The Scavenger’s Sister

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the air around them grew cooler, and the silence of the night settled in. Leon sat by the fire, casually stoking the flames while Raziel stood nearby, stretching her arms and pacing restlessly.

"I'm calling dibs on first watch," Raziel said with a confident grin, already twirling her tonfas.

Leon shot her an amused glance, shaking his head. "Not happening. You'll be out cold in ten minutes, and I'm not trusting you to keep watch when you can barely sit still."

Raziel scowled, clearly annoyed. "Excuse me? I'm not some kid. I can handle it."

Leon sighed, looking at her with a mix of patience and frustration. "No, but you don't exactly have a good track record when it comes to being careful. You're reckless when you're awake—imagine what'll happen when you get bored and start swinging those tonfas around."

Raziel's eyes narrowed, and her grip tightened on her tonfas. "You just don't want to admit I'm better than you give me credit for."

Leon smirked, leaning back. "Better at what? Getting yourself into trouble? Yeah, you're top-tier at that."

Raziel's frustration bubbled over, and without warning, she swung one of her tonfas at him with a flare of Brimstone flames flickering along the blade. Leon dodged easily, but the heat from the flames made his eyes widen slightly.

"Oh, so you wanna fight now?" Leon said, raising an eyebrow, his tone half-amused, half-cautious. "Alright, let's see what you've got."

Raziel grinned, her flames flickering more aggressively around her tonfas. "Finally! Let's do this."

Leon stood up, his demeanor shifting. His gaze darkened, and without warning, he lunged at her, swinging his fist toward her head with alarming speed.

"What the hell?!" Raziel shouted, barely dodging his strike, her tonfas raised defensively. "I thought this was a spar!"

Leon didn't respond. He swung again, faster and harder, forcing her to block. The impact sent vibrations through her arms, and her flames flickered involuntarily. Leon wasn't holding back—he was coming at her like it was life or death.

"This isn't a game," Leon growled, his voice harsh. "You think anyone out there is gonna give you a fair fight? They'll kill you without a second thought."

Raziel blinked, her eyes wide with shock as she struggled to keep up with his relentless assault. "What's your problem? I thought we were just—"

"We're not playing," Leon interrupted, sweeping her legs out from under her with a swift kick. Raziel hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of her. "If you want to survive out there, you need to be ready to fight for real. No one's gonna give you a chance to get back up."

Raziel growled in frustration, pushing herself to her feet. Her flames flickered more fiercely now, fueled by her anger. "Fine. You want a real fight? Let's go."

Leon's gaze didn't waver. "That's more like it."

Raziel charged at him, her tonfas igniting with Brimstone flames as she swung them toward him. But Leon was faster, dodging her attack with ease. He countered with a swift jab to her side, sending her staggering back.

"Too slow," Leon muttered, circling her like a predator.

Raziel gritted her teeth, her flames flaring higher as she swung again, her tonfas cutting through the air like fiery blades. But Leon blocked her attacks effortlessly, deflecting her strikes and landing quick, precise hits to her arms and legs.

"You think the Houses are gonna give you time to figure out how to fight?" Leon snarled, his movements fluid and deadly. "You think they're gonna care about your powers? They'll kill you before you even get a chance to use them."

Raziel's frustration boiled over. She wasn't just fighting Leon now—she was fighting her own anger, her own fear of being weak, of being hunted. But Leon wasn't giving her an inch.

"Stop holding back!" Raziel shouted, her tonfas blazing with fiery intensity as she swung wildly.

Leon ducked under her attack, landing a hard kick to her midsection, sending her crashing to the ground. He held his face inches from hers, his voice cold and unrelenting. "I'm not holding back. You are. You think this is about power? It's not. It's about survival. You're not ready."

Before Raziel could regain her footing, Leon pinned her to the ground with a swift motion. His knee pressed into her chest, holding her down. The pressure, the weight—everything came crashing down on her at once. Flashes of her past, memories of being overpowered, triggered a wave of panic.

Her flames roared to life, surging uncontrollably around her body.

"Leon, get off me!" Raziel screamed, her voice cracking. Her flames exploded outward in a burst of dark energy, fueled by her panic and fear. The flames shot up her arms and legs, burning hot and wild, as if trying to protect her.

Leon's eyes widened as he felt the heat intensify. He barely managed to leap back, his arms singed as he staggered away from her. He cursed under his breath, quickly pulling out his rebreather and slipping it on to shield himself from the smoke and sulfuric air.

Raziel's body trembled as her flames flared violently around her, her breathing ragged and shallow. She wasn't in control. Her powers—her PTSD—were overwhelming her.

Leon didn't back down, though. He stayed nearby, circling her cautiously. "Raziel! You've got to get control of it! You can't let it control you!" His voice was muffled behind the rebreather, but it was firm.

Raziel's eyes were wild, her body shaking as the flames flickered around her uncontrollably. "I can't... I can't stop it!"

Leon cursed under his breath, his mind racing. He knew she was struggling, but he also knew this was part of her fight. This was what she had to face if she ever wanted to survive out there. The world wouldn't give her time to calm down. She had to learn to fight through it—no matter how hard it was.

"You have to!" Leon shouted, staying just out of reach of her flames. "If you don't, you're going to burn yourself alive!"

Raziel's breath hitched, her chest heaving as she fought to suppress the panic rising inside her. Her flames lashed out again, burning the ground around her. She could feel the pain—the searing heat biting at her skin as her powers tore through her, but she couldn't stop it. It was instinctual, raw.

"I... I can't!" Raziel shouted, her voice breaking. The memories, the fear—it was too much. She could feel the weight of it all crushing her, and her flames only grew stronger with every passing second.

Leon's voice cut through the haze of her panic. "You don't have a choice! You have to fight it! You've got to control it!"

Raziel's body trembled violently, the flames flaring higher and higher, but Leon's words echoed in her mind. She had to fight. She had to gain control. But the harder she tried, the more her flames surged, like a wild beast that refused to be tamed.

Leon, seeing her struggle, didn't back down. "This is real! If you can't get a handle on this, you won't make it! Control it, Raziel! Don't let it win!"

But Raziel wasn't listening. Her breathing was ragged, her heart racing as the weight of her trauma overwhelmed her. The flames flared higher, wild and uncontrollable, spiraling around her as she curled in on herself, trying to protect herself from a threat that wasn't there. Her tonfas lay forgotten on the ground, her hands trembling as the Brimstone flames surged and flickered with every ragged breath she took.

Her body shook as the memories clawed their way to the surface, paralyzing her in a haze of fear. She could feel the heat, the suffocating flames, but she couldn't control them. She wasn't fighting Leon—she was fighting her past, trapped in a nightmare she couldn't escape.

Leon took a step back, giving her space as the flames licked dangerously close to him. He could see it now—the way her eyes were distant, unfocused. She wasn't seeing him. She was somewhere else, somewhere far worse. "Raziel," he called, keeping his voice steady, though his pulse raced. "You're not there anymore. You're here. You're safe."

But Raziel didn't respond. Her flames crackled louder, burning the air around her. Leon watched, realizing that her powers weren't an attack—they were a defense. A defense against something he couldn't see, something she couldn't control.

"Raziel," he tried again, softer this time. "You're not alone. You don't have to fight this by yourself."

She didn't seem to hear him. The flames surged again, twisting around her like a shield, scorching the earth beneath her feet. Leon winced at the intense heat but didn't back away. He couldn't leave her like this—not while she was trapped in her own mind, her own pain.

Leon hesitated for a split second, then stepped forward, braving the heat. His rebreather kept the worst of the smoke out of his lungs, but the intense heat was unbearable. He had to reach her before she burned herself out completely. "Raziel!" he called again, louder this time, as he got closer. "You've got to fight it! Not just the flames—whatever's in your head, too!"

Raziel's body tensed, but her eyes were still distant, lost in whatever nightmare was gripping her. Leon cursed under his breath. He couldn't touch her—not without risking getting burned. But he had to snap her out of this somehow.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Leon said, his voice calm but firm, even as the flames licked dangerously close to his skin. "But you've got to get a grip. These flames—they're yours, not theirs. They don't own you. You own them."

For a moment, it seemed like his words reached her. Raziel's flames flickered, the intensity wavering as her breathing hitched. Her eyes blinked, and for the first time, she looked at him—really looked at him. But the fear was still there, deep in her eyes, raw and unrelenting.

"I... I can't..." she whispered, her voice trembling.

Leon stayed just out of reach of the flames, his gaze steady. "Yes, you can. You've got to. I'm here. We're in this together. But you need to calm the fire down. Control it."

Raziel's body shook as she struggled to breathe, her mind racing. The flames around her flickered wildly, still threatening to spiral out of control. But something in Leon's voice, in his presence, grounded her—just enough to make her pause. She wasn't alone. Not anymore.

Slowly, the flames around her began to recede, the crackling heat fading as she took a shaky breath. Her body trembled, her mind still a mess, but she was starting to regain control—if only just barely. The Brimstone flames that had been lashing out like a wild beast settled into a faint, flickering aura around her body.

Leon let out a slow breath, his heart still pounding in his chest. "There you go," he murmured, his voice calm. "You did it."

Raziel's eyes were glassy with unshed tears, her body still trembling as she struggled to pull herself together. She looked up at Leon, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... I don't know how to stop it."

Leon crouched down a safe distance away, his tone soft but firm. "You're not supposed to stop it. You're supposed to control it. That's the difference."

Raziel looked down at her hands, the faint flicker of flames still dancing across her skin. The pain was still there—burning her, searing her—but it wasn't out of control anymore. It was hers, but it wasn't a victory. Not yet.

Her breathing hitched, and for a moment, she just stared at the flames. Her emotions crashed into her like a tidal wave, overwhelming every attempt to hold herself together. The weight of everything—her past, her powers, her fear—became too much.

Before Leon could say anything, she rushed toward him, her body trembling with the effort of holding it all in. Without thinking, she threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest as the tears came. They fell hard and fast, breaking through the walls she'd tried so desperately to keep up.

Leon froze for a split second, his heart pounding in his chest—not because of the outburst, but because of the flames still flickering around her. Instinctively, he tensed, waiting for the burn to sear his skin, to feel the heat like before. But as Raziel pressed herself into him, sobbing, something strange happened.

The flames didn't hurt him. They were still there, still dancing faintly around her body, but they didn't burn.

His breath caught in his throat, and he didn't know if he should pull away or hold her tighter. But the sound of her broken sobs—so raw, so full of pain—made the decision for him. Slowly, carefully, Leon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. "Hey… it's okay," he murmured, his voice softer now, gentler than before. "You're okay."

Raziel's fingers clenched tightly in the fabric of his shirt, her body shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't stop the tears, couldn't hold back the overwhelming tide of everything she'd been bottling up. "I... I don't want this," she choked out between sobs. "I never wanted any of this."

"I know," Leon whispered, feeling her tremble against him. "I know you didn't."

She cried harder, her shoulders shaking as she pressed her face deeper into his chest, trying to hide from the world, from herself. The flames around her flickered but stayed steady, their heat no longer a threat.

Leon's grip tightened ever so slightly, his chest tightening with a feeling he didn't fully understand. He wasn't good at this—comforting people, dealing with emotions. But for once, it didn't matter. Raziel needed this—needed someone to just be there. And he was the only one who could do that right now.

"You're not alone," Leon said quietly, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions in the air. "I'm right here."

Raziel didn't respond, but her sobs softened slightly, her body still trembling but no longer shaking violently. She stayed there, wrapped in his arms, clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.

And for the first time, Leon didn't pull away.

The flames continued to flicker softly around her, warm but not burning. They seemed to pulse with her emotions, reacting to her vulnerability, but they didn't lash out. They didn't consume.

Leon rested his chin lightly on the top of her head, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're stronger than you think, Raziel."

Raziel's grip on his shirt tightened, her breath hitching again as the tears slowly began to ebb. She didn't say anything, but the way she held onto him—like he was her anchor—said enough.

Leon stayed like that, holding her close, feeling the warmth of her flames against his skin. And for the first time, he didn't feel the need to run.