Rayne Drops (FFXV)

XXXIII) Return to Cape Caem

~Four Months Before~

"D'ya see that Nyx?" a gruff voice shouts, the sound of metal scraping against the ground resonating behind me. "Bet it was an ol' alley cat."

"Better go get it then," Nyx chuckles. My heartbeat speeds up as footsteps drag closer. Wyn's eyes grow dark as he swivels around to glare in the other direction, frozen.

"Let's go," I grit, tugging his arm. He doesn't budge, watching intently like a trapped mouse. No, I've seen that look before... Maybe not on him, but I swear to Shiva I've seen it.

"Here kitty cat," the armored Glaive member calls, whistling.

"Catcall," someone snickers farther away; an eruption of laughter follows.

I back away from Wyn as he grows tenser, the air around him so thick with anticipation I could slice it with my sword and serve it to Regis on a silver platter. My fingers trace the edge of a rusty dumpster, my back pressing against the brick wall behind me. Why do I have to hide...? The boots draw nearer, and then suddenly, both men are gone. I hurry forward, freezing when I see Wyn pinning the Glaive member to the cobblestone ground, his thumbs pressed deeply into the base of the soldier's throat. Nails dig into his pale wrists, blood staining his pristine uniform.

Before I can step forward to stop him from strangling the struggling soldier, Wyn takes hold of one shoulder, the other hand grabbing hold of the man's forehead. He lifts him slightly, only to bring the soldier's head down against the stones with a sickening crack, blood spraying across the ground in a sea of red.

I watch in stunned silence as the Tenebraen commander summons his katana to his gloved hand, standing and pressing his boot to the side of the Glaive member's head to keep him down. The man dizzily reaches up to grip Wyn's boots right before the blade slides clear through his right eye, piercing through his brain and through the backside of his head. The katana vanishes, Wyn breathing heavily as he looks up at me through his sweaty, fallen bangs.

"You alright back there, Henley?" Nyx calls. Wyn snaps out of whatever stasis he was in, his eyes going wide. He lunches forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the alley behind him.

"Run!" he hisses, recapturing my attention.

My heart feels like it's going to burst out of my chest. My head's swimming. Nothing's clear as we sprint down the street, dodging the few people that remain out in these parts. We turn a sharp corner, my boots nearly skidding out from under my feet as we hurry away from the scene stained in crimson droplets. I dare to look back over my shoulder. No one's pursuing us...

I shake my head, spying an alcove up ahead and catching up to Wyn, yanking him back by his white jacket and effectively stopping him. I jerk him to the side, slamming him up against the hidden wall and pressing my gunblade to his throat. This ends now. He holds up his shaking hands, panting. There's a wild look in his eyes, something I've never seen in them before.

"What the #@$% was that?!" I demand, pressing my blade closer to his skin.

"I-I don't..." he takes a deep breath. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," I snap, my anger flaring like a fire being fed more and more tinder.

"He was one of yours, was he not?" he asks, his voice wavering. The returned sincerity in his voice catches my attention. "I tried to stop you. I couldn't... I didn't want you to see." He maintains eye contact stubbornly, pleading for me to listen.