Looking down at the Abyss, Raziel shifted his feet uneasily, making sure that the whole sole of his feet (or what was left of it) was touching the cold solid earth underneath him.  Curiosity and wonder gnawed his thoughts of what the Abyss was like.  Kain had brought him and his brothers here once, explaining to them the Abyss, that it was meant for traitors and weaklings to be given the ‘pleasure’ of being flung into the vast, never ending whirlpool that had awaited their welcomed presence.  But never did Kain allow them to pass him on that excursion, like a dog heeling at his master’s command.  Nobody wanted to walk anywhere near the Abyss anyway, and there he was, standing over the cliff of Death itself.  The young, brave (and in kind words) daring Raziel.

      Even if he himself knew he could leap over the small gaps between the Abyss and his clan’s territory, Raziel dared not, fearing that he might lose his foothold, and slip into the acidic water.  

      Cringing his visage, Raziel flipped his emotions about the ‘thing’ beneath him, from fear to hatred.  Cocking his head to look into the black night sky, the fledgling vampire admired its simple, yet unique beauty, for without it, other creatures (like himself) couldn’t stalk the earth itself that they live on.  But the Abyss lay glowing, waiting eagerly for its next meal, making gurgling and splashing noises that could not pull away from Raziel’s sensitive ears, despite him concentrating on the clear sky, which will be later engulfed by fumes to shield the vampires from the sun’s deadly rays.

      “Comfortable, Raziel?”

      That familiar voice struck Raziel with fear, making him jolt and face his master and father, Kain himself.  Walking up to the fledgling, Kain held a peacock stance, full of pride and arrogance.  Raziel felt his body shrink under Kain’s very presence.  He bowed to the older and experienced vampire, keeping his eyes locked to his feet.  Looking at the faint glow from the Abyss upon the rocks and back at the young vampire in front of him, Kain kept half his thoughts of why Raziel wanted to visit the Abyss.

      “At ease Raziel,” Kain watched his oldest would-be lieutenant rise to Kain, but not look directly at his eyes.  Not wanting Raziel’s loyalty to blind upcoming questions, Kain cleared his throat to begin.

      “What are you doing here, Raziel? You didn’t take rest when dawn had arrived before.  Are you starving yourself off sleep?” Raziel twitched at Kain’s last statement, and answered him in a low tone.

      “No my lord.  I just wandered about-“ Raziel paused when Kain started to circle around him.  “The…the Abyss.  It’s always alive,”.  Raising an eyebrow, Kain was humored by Raziel’s fear and paranoia built upon glances at the Abyss, and let out a roar of laughter towards Raziel’s quiet comment about the Abyss.  Changing quick glances at his feet, Raziel felt confused and embarrassed, but Kain’s laughter only broke down into suppressed  chortles.  

      “Raziel…the Abyss…is it that ferocious?” Kain grinned, bearing his teeth at Raziel out of amusement.  “Did it give you nightmares? Did it jump out of your dreams and flush you down into it’s bowels? Are you afraid I might cast you in?” Raziel looked up at Kain, demanding for an answer with his eyes feverishly darting about at Kain’s face.  He had never realized that that small thought had sent a shock through his veins, the fear of disobeying Kain’s every command, meeting the consequences…the Abyss!

      Kain’s grin turned to a scowl at Raziel’s new obsession over his own death.  Upon realizing his lord’s changing moods, Raziel hastily tried to calm himself down, and covered his fear under a stoic expression, like a crab scuttling under a rock, which tried to chase away small doubts of Kain towards his ‘son’.  Lifting Raziel’s chin with a claw-like finger, Kain glared at Raziel for any uncertainty on his face, enforcing his penetrating stare with a full, firm grip on the fledgling’s lower jaw with his blood red claws.  Kain started to repeat his speech over the Abyss that he had thought to Raziel and his brothers, but only in debt.

      “The Abyss is just a place of execution.  It does not do much, but provide us the need to ban the treacherous and the cowardly.  The only fear you need to put towards this situation…is none.  Remember Raziel, the Abyss is a place, and only the foolish would plunge their fears, and drown themselves over a small matter.  But what matters, is that if you yourself don’t want to end up in the Abyss-“

      “I must not betray my master, lord and surrogate father, Lord Kain, for He brought life to my veins, and He has given me a chance to live life as a greater, immortal soul…” the young fledgling finished Kain’s words using his own.  

      Silence lingered by the two vampires, unsure of when to lift its own disturbing presence.  After near seconds to boredom, Kain flicked his hand away from Raziel’s jaw, leaving an tingling sensation on the younger vampire’s jaw.  

      “Go back, and stop wondering in places I myself feel that you should not go to, too often,”  Kain placed a hand on Raziel’s back, and Raziel walked with him, feeling tired after the sudden rush of emotions that spilt its delicate essence onto himself.  Looking back at the Abyss, Kain let go of Raziel’s cloak, and allowed the young fledgling to wander back to his own quarters.  What Raziel thought of it, Kain didn’t know himself, for Raziel was not just a vampire, but a vampire with complicated, long series of differences towards his master.  

      Turning back to the hallway, Kain was partially surprised to see Raziel  awaiting for him to walk in front.  Kain swiveled and walked pass Raziel, and Raziel turned his head to a slight bow as Kain walked past him.  In front of Kain, Raziel thought of what he himself had said.  ‘I must not betray…not betray…’ 

And what if he does?