As relieved as he was, deep down Riel knew that this was only a small reprieve.  He had time enough to catch his breath before the battle inside him continued, aided by the stranger who had scorched him from the inside out.  Strange as it would’ve sounded aloud, he was grateful to the man for that shock of pain.  It had not only pushed back the blackness eating away at him, but it had also shaken him enough to renew his need to fight.<br/><br/>The man was talking.  Riel leaned in toward the words, or at least he tried to.  His body was still sluggish to respond, and he was stiff and sore all over.  What was being said?  The words were familiar enough, but the accent was foreign.  Why couldn’t he get past the accent?<br/><br/>But it wasn’t the way the stranger’s mouth formed vowels, or the variant of hard consonants so much as the veil that had not quite lifted.  Everything still sounded a little muddle where he was.  He didn’t necessarily need to<i>hear</i>the words to catch the meaning behind them, however.  It was a warning and a plea.<br/><br/><i>Come back from the edge.  Prepare for battle.</i><br/><br/>There was summer in the air.  Something sweet yet tart, rich and dark.  It took a few moments for him to recognize it, and then he remembered that it was the scent that had washed over him when he felt that fire pouring through his veins.  As much as that should’ve put him off the smell entirely, he couldn’t say that it did.  The truth was… he hated blackberries, already.  They tasted bitter to him, and they stained his clothes whenever he and his father trained in the overgrown clearing near their home on Tumnambar.  When the Schi had been desperate for energy, he’d stuffed them into his mouth by the handful, forcing them down like they were a rancid medicine.  His distaste for them was enough that whenever he’d come for a visit and smelled it around Anael’s, he’d immediately leave.  It was common enough that Riel had decided years ago that the Anaisi had some kind of weird blackberry pie addiction.  The thought that there was a fetish behind it might’ve also popped into his mind a few times.  But now he was beginning to understand…  It was<i>this</i>man.<br/><br/><i>What an unfortunate scent,</i>Riel thought to himself once he’d managed to pry his eyelids open.<i>And he seems so nice.</i><br/><br/>The moment his vision cleared enough to make out a face looking back at him, things started to become more solid in his mind.  What had before been distant mutterings seemed to click.<br/><br/>“I hear you,” he whispered.  “I’m ready.”