The vermilion-haired boy fumbled with his slender, alabaster fingers as he stared out the window that remained imprisoned in the cold wall next to his bed. The newly fallen snow seemed almost like confectionary-sugar, powdered sugar; almost like that of a gingerbread world. Raleigh smiled to himself, reminiscing the last few memories he had of his long-forgotten childhood that had been forced from him.

Lionel... seemed to make it all come back.

'A child that never seems to grow up. Or, at least doesn't know the meaning of it.'

Those were the exact thoughts that popped up into Raleigh's mind whenever he would think about, or even see the face of, the boy who had made his coming to Hogwarts all the worth-while.

"Hiya, sunshine. How're ya holdin` up? Huh? Huh? Huhhh?" Lionel asked, completely ditzy and blitzed out of his mind.

Raleigh merely glared at Lionel, like he always did, but he was actually happy to see a familiar face. It felt like ages since he had last been in Durmstrang.

XD

Both Axel's and Viktor's eyes widened in utter shock as they laid eyes on the figure in front of them. Raleigh hung upside-down from a tree; his ankles were tied together, his hands were tied behind his back, he had a gag over his mouth, and his body just seemed to dangle. Blood soaked the gag and even dripped from underneath it, blood dripped from his nose, from several cuts on his face, and even soaked his black zip-up shirt.

"Viktor, we have to hurry and get him down from there!" The two hurried over to the body and carefully lowered it.

As Axel softly pressed his fingers against Raleigh's chest, he felt something ... rather differently.

"His ribs ... they're ... broken...?" He gasped in question. Axel saw the blood on Raleigh's hands. 'He wouldn't do this ... he's not that kind of person. He wouldn't just give up. Someone ... did this to him.'

Raleigh found himself overanalyzing Viktor's words that he had written in his letter. Especially, the words involving the lion. He snorted to himself, as if not believing the letter. 'This was definitely ... awkward.' He thought to himself.

Raleigh folded the letter up, once more, and stared out his dormitory-window. Snow continued to fall, and the ground was now completely covered in snow. The trees, branches, windowsills, roofs, and everything else were completely covered in the same white-powder. The cold did not leak into his room, though. A warm-fire had been started, and Raleigh found himself warming to it. He stared at the letter that he had just placed down on a nearby bedstand. It was folded up, except for a few words that were illuminated by the fire's flickering light. Words saying, 'Lionel Montgomery'.

"Nothing seems to escape you ... not even me." Raleigh whispered. He put a black shirt ((that had a zipper going down the middle)) and zipped it up to about his chest. He changed his pants into a pair of olive-green pants that had a few chains on them.

'You say these words when you know that they are not true.'

'Stop thinking about him. You're beginning to break your promise.'

'Oh, right. That promise? The one where you only want me to be devoted to you?'

'Stop saying it like it's a bad thing.'

He was definitely going to get a lecture from Headmaster Karkaroff.

The sad reality.

The winds that pierced against the vermilion-haired boy's alabaster complexion almost took away his breath from the start. His black shirt almost did not feel like enough, and neither did his black pants nor his black chuck-taylors. Or ... his pearl-colored scarf. Snow began to clutch to the ground, the building, nearby trees, and everywhere else in the landscape. Raleigh rather enjoyed these few moments. He found himself laying in the newly-fallen snow, strumming his acoustic guitar, and singing a few songs. It was like Viktor had told him, "You are like a secret-musician".

His shaking voice ((cold from the currently-falling snow)) seemed so serene with the silence surrounding the school grounds. It was a beautiful thing.

"And he can't understand how everyone goes on breathing when true love ends... His mother whispers quietly... Heaven's not a place that you go when you die, it's that moment in life when you actually feel alive. So live for the moment, and take this advice, live by every word. Love is just a hoax so forget anything that you have heard; and live for the moment now..." Raleigh sang.

His fingers became tinted with redness and a few signs of frostbite from the cold. He didn't seem to worry about it. For once, he wanted to be exposed. No more camouflage.

Raleigh undid the top of his Durmstrang uniform and took off the fur-cloak that partially completed his Durmstrang uniform. He laid those down, and laid on his bed. He was the only student at the school. Cold beats of sweat dripped off of his face, and neck, and onto his black-net shirt.

He missed his beloved school, but he did not miss the strict policies, rules, and almost everything else. Perhaps ... he should just ... stay in his dormitory until the tournament and Hogwarts was over. But ... it wouldn't be so easy. Everyone would be looking for him, for indeed ... he was a vital-player in the tournament. One of the three chosen canidates that would represent Durmstrang.

It was always drama, drama, and oh-- more drama. It made the vermilion-haired boy so sick that he wanted to even kill.

"Bastardized sons and daughters." He cursed under his chilled breath. He was currently forcing himself to re-adapt to the regular, cold weather over in Bulgaria, rather than at Hogwarts. His gaze stared up at his ceiling, several 30-some feet above. The patterns on the ceilings often reminded him of Autumn-ic stained-glass. And also ... of that strawberry-blonde haired boy back at Hogwarts.

'Perfect. Now he's on his way embarrassing me to his friends, I'm sure.' Raleigh softly snorted. Some birthday. Just like the rest of his others. He absolutely refused to celebrate his birthdays with anyone. Especially ... his family. He shuddered at this thought, and then quickly ripped through his messenger-bag and pulled out a book or two. He often found his nose in a book. What better way to kill time, ne?

...Still, he could not seem to concentrate on reading. Raleigh soon gave up, placed a hand on his forehead, and another on the book that he had just set aside on his wide, rather-large bed covered in several sheets; colors matching the same as the school's theme colors. It was mainly due to the "lion".

"Look what you did to me, lion..." Raleigh grimaced sarcastically, and then felt his lips quircking into a very, very, VERY unnoticable smirk.

He had no intentions of going back to Hogwarts. Mostly, the lion had "obligated" him not to. If he wanted that, then he would do as the lion wished. It was not his place to say anything. At least ... that's how he was raised.

"I keep waiting for a change but I don't know why ... But I'm just frozen here on the same old spot."

He never really used to like to think of it, but at the moment, he was currently being *forced* to do so.

"Does that hurt? Knowing that you are just a weapon to everyone? That you'll only be embraced by our people that way? It's the only way anyone will ever think of you."

Raleigh could see both he and Kami whenever they were both much younger. It was Raleigh's birthday,and he had just turned 8-years-old. Kami, on the other hand, was 10-years-old. Both of the families ((Avalon and Alatriste)) had gotten together to celebrate this day. The birthday of the future Kazekage.

"I-I ... I'm really s-s-sorry Kami-san!" Raleigh sobbed, suffering pain from the blows that he had endured from Kami.

"If you were sorry, then you would just die.

Raleigh's turquoise eyes widened with intense fear.

"Do not address me by 'Kami-san', weapon. Go die. Do everyone a favor." Kami mumbled, not even staring at the younger cousin as he spoke in intense distaste. He smacked Raleigh once more, not even bothering to watch as the tears dripped down his pale-shaded face. Raleigh couldn't even understand what he did wrong at the time.

"You EXISTED. That's what you did wrong."

Raleigh's thoughts turned to the exact moment where his uncle had tried to assassinate him with his own power.

"YOU KILLED KAGURA AND EVERYONE ELSE! I NEVER LOVED YOU!" He ran towards the sobbing bundle, made out to be a child, with a katana within both of his hands. Suddenly, sand surrounded the irate-figure, and it began to squeeze the life out of him.

Monster.

Beast.

Ghastly, horrid son of his.

Weapon.

I will change.

Change does exist ... for ... he ((*cough, Lionel, *cough*)) swayed me to believe so.

I can change my path.

It will take work, but ...

... I wish to earn the respect of others.

"I know... but ... by just waiting, I get attacked by an even greater anguish. So someday, maybe I'll...be liked. So that's why I, as one of the sand's shinobi, aim to be Kazekage. To bond and live for this family, and the people. Through hard work, I want to be accepted by everyone. I got that after seeing Lionel Montgomery. But up until now... bonds with others... have been nothing but an annoyance to the point I would want to kill. But for him to go so far as to say ... 'What's the deal with bonds?!' Now, there's something that I understand a little better. Hate, sadness, and even happiness ... to be able to share it with another person ... Lionel Montgomery ... from fighting with him ... I learned that. He knew pain like I did. And then, he taught me that you can change that path. I wish oneday, that I can be needed by someone. Not as a frightening weapon. But as the sand's Kazekage."

'I'll do everything I can ... to protect you from him.'

It was all Raleigh could think about.

What if Kami hurt Lionel?

He surely wasn't afraid to hurt Skye, or Helena, or anyone else who "got in his way". So, what would make Lionel any different exception?

Raleigh grimaced at this thought.

NO ONE would hurt Lionel, at least ... not while Raleigh was around.

Raleigh laid in the dormitory-room bed with his turquoise eyes focusing on the ceiling above him. That boy ... he really knew how to make him smile. Raleigh found it somewhat embarrassing that he ... couldn't look even look Lionel in the eye.

Suddenly, a figure crashed threw one of the windows in the dormitory. Raleigh immediately turned his gaze to the figure. It was wearing one of the same-exact robes as the Organization did. For several moments, the figure just stood at where it had landed in the room, staring at Raleigh. Raleigh scooted himself off of his bed and stood, staring at the figure with a scowl, and then stood up straight; his hands clenched tightly into fists.

"Did Kami send you...?"

The figure said nothing, but it began to approach Raleigh.

"Come any closer and I swear I will take your tongue out and hang you by it."

The figure stopped for a few moments, and Raleigh only stood with an even more fowl scowl on his face ((like in my current icon XD)). It began to chuckle, and then move towards Raleigh even faster.

+~------~+

"Okies, so, like, n00b! We totally need to start practicing now!" Lionel grinned in his usual carefree-manner.

A voice from down the hall sounded.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" It screamed.

"Was that --- Raleigh ... ?" Isildur whispered, curious as to why Raleigh would even raise his voice in the utmost-manner.

Raleigh exited the room, outside of the room that had soon become a surgical-room, and went into a nearby boy's restroom.

"Ugh..." He groaned, dampening his alabaster face, somewhat.

"Hey, are you one of those Durmstrang students?" A voice from in one of the stalls asked.

"What business is it of yours?" Raleigh murmured, trying to deal with the stress, and more to come, that he was currently bearing.

"Um ... nothing. I was just curious." A boy came out of the stall and began to wash his hands next to Raleigh. "My name's Blaise Zabini. What's your name?"

"None of your concern, sir."

"Heeeeeeeey, is something wrong? You seem kind of tense." Blaise smiled a bit as he placed his hands on Raleigh's shoulders.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"

"But why? I can help."

"NO, I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT." Raleigh took Blaise's hands off of his shoulders and then began to exit the restroom.

"H-Hey, wait!"

Raleigh didn't wait. He exited the restroom and quickly tried to ditch Blaise. He came back into the room where the "group" was waiting and then leaned up against the wall next to the window that peered into the room where Skye was in. Before he knew it, Blaise had come into the same room.

'He just ... doesn't know when to give up, does he?'

"Hey, Isildur!" Blaise grinned widely. He noticed that the same 'girl' sat next to him. A frown quickly formed on his face...

"You know him, Isildur?" Raleigh asked coldy, retort being sensed within his voice.

(( OOC: GAAAAAAAH! I AM SO SORRY ABOUT NOT RETURNING YOUR COMMENT, MAKI-SAAAAAAAN! I PROMISE THAT I WILL DO THAT TODAY!

Dude ... I found something out. Like, that's really bad.

MH is going away. For a long trip. I think he's, like, turned emo or something. Billy said that he's cutting off all of his connections. Yeah. I know, it sounds stupid and that I'm probably making it up or something, but ... Billy and Ashie both said that MH said that and then left. x___x I'm sorry...))

My other RP-site:

http://infintano.livejournal.com

Dude, like, I haven't even thought of a name for that character yet. XD All I know is that he is a guy ...

For once in his life, he actually felt like he "belonged".

"I'll do everything I can to keep you by my side." He whispered. He turned his gaze to Helena, who was gripping her handkerchief in her hand tightly, her lavender eyes focusing on her younger brother's (Skye) unconscious form. Afterwards, his gaze lightened a bit, and then turned to Isildur; who sat beside her. He, too, was looking at Skye. Raleigh could see that the black-haired boy pained himself, only to keep his own tears tucked behind a wall of solitude.

Raleigh could relate.

PERSONALLY, he was also fighting his own desperation in sorrow; placing it all behind a persona that he was clinging ever-so wearily to. He didn't want to cry. He never wanted to cry, ever again. He hadn't done so in so long ... several years, at least. The last time he cried, he was ... what, 8-years-old? Kami threw a fit and had began to abuse him like he always did whenever he became upset.

"Rai?"

Viktor had broken Raleigh's chain of thoughts.

"Are you okay? You seem somevhat distracted..." Viktor asked, towering over him. Viktor was a much taller person than Raleigh was, which made it hard to picture the two of them being best friends. Viktor was also two years older than he was. But still, nothing would change their relationship.

"Yes, I'm fine." He wasn't. His heart raced as he watched Professor Hana retrieved many more surgical tools and equipment.

"I wonder ... how long the surgery will be." Axel mumbled in, yet, an audible tone-of-voice.

"Stop being stupid and actually think for once. You know it will be a while. Surgery is a very life-threatening process, Axel." Raleigh replied sharply, even though the comment Axel made wasn't directly intended for him.

"What's your problem? Why are you suddenly biting my head off?"

"What's your problem!? Do you even care? Or, do you just want to go back to your dormitory to do god-knows-what? You're welcomed to do so! It would spare me from having to see that sulky face of yours at the moment."

"HEY. Don't talk to me that way! He's my cousin, too! I have a right to ask questions! On the other hand, I'd appreciate it if you'd get off my back about everything!"

"Why don't you ... just go kill yourself?"

"Why don't you!? You think you're so superior, and everythi---"

"Stop it, you two!" Helena shouted, raising her voice. The two brothers turned their attention to her.

'What a baka, Axel is.' Raleigh contemplated to himself. He stared at Isildur through the corner of his turquoise eyes. Why had it become so much of a habit to stare at that boy, anyways? Why did he look so oddly familiar to him? Something about him ... seemed to ease his racing-thoughts.

(( OOC: If you comment, select the Japanese-looking-option at the side. It means "comment". XD ))