Raith gives the slightest nod of his head, eyes shifting back to the quarry as sadness seems to take hold of him. “After they died… I swore I’d make surviving mean something. Whether I needed to be a shield or a sword, I didn’t care. I just knew I’d make absolutely fucking sure nobody I cared about could be taken from me again. Nobody.”

In that moment, I see past the walls he's built—glimpse the depth of guilt and grief he carries. I see how the way he keeps himself aloof isn't emotional detachment or coldness. It's to protect himself from how deeply he cares. He can't bear the thought of losing anyone else, and he's terrified of opening himself to more hurt.

Before I can stop myself, I reach for his hand, my fingers sliding between his.

His skin burns against mine, the unnatural heat of a fire affinity, but he doesn't pull away. He doesn't even pull away when some of his fire starts to flow into me. With practice, I've learned to slow it substantially when I want, making the flow a trickle instead of a torrent.

The faint passage of power feels oddly intimate, like part of him is becoming part of me, temporarily joining with my essence in a quiet, private dance.

His fingers tighten around mine, just for a moment, before he gently disengages.

"There's more to see," he says, but his voice has lost some of its hardness. "There's a path down on the eastern side."

As we pick our way along the quarry's edge, I find myself watching him more closely than the terrain. There's a grace to his movements, an awareness of his surroundings that speaks of years spent looking over his shoulder. Whatever shaped him into the man he is now left scars deeper than the visible ones on his face.

"What about you?" he asks unexpectedly. "Your family. You never mention them either."

"There's not much to tell," I say reflexively. Protecting myself from the tragedy has become an instinct already—so automatic I hardly give it a moment's thought. I slow my pace, shaking my head. "Sorry. No. That's not true. Around the time I turned sixteen, I started to notice strange things would happen when my emotions ran high."

Raith gives a knowing nod. "Early signs of elemental affinity are strange like that. Sometimes the unmarked can briefly demonstrate power to rival a primal, even if they can't control it."