On the Sandy Streets (Hyrulian Hero)

OoC: You can ignore this OoC part, HH. I'm just jotting something down here as reference for my own timeline purposes.

This battle comes before "Her Rebellion" and after everything else Cadenza-related to date.

IC:
“Your freedom is like the ‘number’ infinity, Cadenza; it’s an abstract concept, not an obtainable reality.”

Defiant blue eyes glared at the speaking figure before them in the dark, blazing fiercely as if with a light of their own. At the sitting woman’s ankle, an electric pulse flashing the hue of a robin’s egg reflected in the corneas of the gypsy standing in the center of the room.

The woman drew closer to the chair, eyes narrowed and a devious smile playing across her scarlet lips. She ran a hand along her sister’s bruised cheek, meandering down the olive-colored skin to lift up the younger woman’s chin and force her to meet her unsettling gaze.

“Why don’t you retort, ‘denza? You always have some snide remark waiting impatiently on the tip of your tongue.”

The seated gypsy gnawed at her bottom lip, suppressing the words that came to mind. Let’s see how enthusiastic you would be about replying if someone slapped an electric-shock bracelet on you that zapped you whenever you “misbehaved.”

“You’ve lost your edge, haven’t you?” Vivace taunted, raising an eyebrow to mimic the behavior of a persistent prosecutor. The lack of a response failed to daunt her. “Or,” she continued, “is this docility you’re trying to display only a result of our little punishment? Do I, perhaps, have to test the sincerity of your devotion and obedience?”

“You know you will no matter what I say,” Cadenza replied dryly. She flinched, expecting a shock for speaking at all, and even though it never came, she was not heartened in the least. She’ll be unpredictable with the punishment to keep me on my toes, the accursed wretch.

At the flinch, Vivace had broken down into laughter, each expulsion ringing out so loud, full, and rich that it echoed throughout the Madrigal basement for countless minutes afterward. The woman sighed, recovering from the fit, and her countenance snapped back to a reserved expression so swiftly and suddenly that it was alarming. Her keen brown eyes regained command of Cadenza’s attention once more, and the sparkle of malign amusement apparent in them was not lost on the trapped gypsy.

“What do you want me to do?” the younger sister demanded.

“Prove your dedication to me and our family. Prove you’ll listen to any order I give.”

“How do you want me to do that?”

The grin that graced Vivace’s lips was as disconcerting to the mind as it was perturbing to one’s moral center. Even Cadenza, a woman of a firm constitution who was quite accustomed to her sister’s mannerisms, could not help but shiver at the vile quality present when the woman smiled.

“You will engage in battle any and all travelers who enter our city of Santa Mariela, and eliminate them if they can be deemed a potential threat. That means any do-gooders, vigilantes, wannabe heroes, or otherwise upstanding—or even seemingly neutral—people. I don’t care if it’s a child or a sickly old lady—you will fight them, and kill them if necessary. And how do you decide if it’s necessary, you may ask? Well, you’re free to use your own discretion, but …” she trailed off to pointedly glance at the ankle on which the shocker bracelet was locked before finishing her sentence “…if I disagree with your judgment, you’ll…be notified, let’s just say.”

The younger gypsy snarled in return. As much as she wanted to make a quip back, getting the last word wasn’t important enough to be shocked over. She stood and recollected her weapons when Vivace untied her, and upon hearing her sister’s voice as she neared the stairs, spun around, tapping her foot expectantly.

“ ‘denza…I just thought I’d let you know…if you are planning on trying to remove the bracelet, banish all thoughts about that from your mind now. If you even attempt, you’ll be reprimanded with a rather lethal jolt.”

Of course, Cadenza groaned inwardly. Sighing to herself, she rushed up the stairs and out the side door into the sandy streets of Santa Mariela, readying her bow and arrows. Time for some ridiculously needless manslaughter at Vivace’s whim, she thought sardonically, and just as the thought subsided, an abrupt electrical shock ran through the woman’s petite body. For a brief instant it seemed like it was a warning from Vivace that she was not even safe within her own mind, however impossible that kind of omniscience in a human was. But with some applied reason, the gypsy dispelled the paranoia.

The gypsy had faltered in her step at the jolt, but quickly recuperated and forged on down an alleyway, hoping not to meet a single soul.

The coarse sand of Santa Mariela grated softly against the cloaked man’s soft boots, the black leather traversing the fine grains in long strides. Heavy, dark green fabric fluttered in the midday breeze as the man strode through an arch, passing through the protective wall surrounding the town. Buildings on either side shaded the main street running through the town nicely, providing a cool reprieve from the blazing sun. Kashet unchangingly continued his trek, seemingly oblivious to the burning sun and welcoming shade. Unseen eyes peered out through the narrow slits of the white oval mask, their owner habitually scanning each and every shadow. His subconscious took in and analyzed everything he came across. The drowsy man slumped behind a roughly built crate of desert fruits, the cowled woman and child praying before the statue of a bald monk smiling beatifically down at them, the huddled group of boys exchanging small treasures and knick-knacks.

All were passed off as innocuous. The bow-wielding woman kneeling behind a fruit stand at the opposite end of the street was, needless to say, not. Kashet stopped as a purple-feathered shaft buried itself in the ground at his feet. Rising to her feet, the woman stepped out into the open. Had Kashet been one with the leisure to involve himself with the opposite sex, he might have found himself somewhat infatuated with her. Even as it was, he had to silently admit that the woman was very easy on the eyes. Lush, black curls were gathered at the back of her head, with several renegade strands framing her tanned, slender face. Her white blouse held tightly against her fit and ample torso, leading down to the dark-hued pants beneath. Nevertheless, Kashet didn’t have time to admire the woman, nor the desire to contemplate any further. Stepping over the half-buried arrow, Kashet continued as he had before.

“Halt! Who are you, and what—” The woman began, but broke off, shaking her head as if it didn’t even matter. Shrugging in a way that suggested she was throwing off some unwanted thought or other, the woman notched another arrow. Microscopic machines worked furiously within the masked man’s body, his unseen skin darkening and taking on what would have been a metallic gleam, had it been exposed to the blazing sun overhead. The arrow smashed against Kashet’s stomach, yet the man didn’t falter even a single step, the shaft snapping in two and the halves twirling away. Masking her surprise, the gypsy readied another arrow, raising the tip to point at the darkness enshrouding Kashet’s face, who continued to walk forward undaunted.

The third arrow leapt forth, and like its predecessor, was turned away by whatever laid beneath that dark green cloak. Kashet ignored both the arrow and woman, keeping his gaze firmly on the sandy street over her shoulder. The gypsy, frantic at the man’s impossible approach, grasped at the hilt swaying next to her hip, drawing the blade as holding it between herself and Kashet as she inched backwards. Kashet however, continued to ignore the woman, striding coolly past her without even a glance. Sighing inwardly as he put the gypsy behind him, Kashet silently hoped that she would get the message. If she attacked him again, he would have no choice but to respond in kind. And he really didn’t want to have to kill such a young woman.

OoC: Sorry it took so long, and that its not really that great. Every single time I tried to write, something came up and I had to stop. >.<;

Of all the blasted, cursed, damned luck! Cadenza thought as she watched the strange man stroll on unfazed, her eyes shouting the words in their intense feeling and expression more loudly than one ever could vocally. Up until this point, the entrants of the city had been particularly mild-mannered and unthreatening, and unless prompted by a shock, she had been free to leave them be. But now she could plainly see that her good fortune had run dry, for now she was faced with some sort of emotionless, metallic juggernaut.

The shock that had come had been enough to pressure her into what she figured was a futile fight, but the way he had brushed her off served to fuel the flames even further. Taking out her dagger as a distraction, she stepped in time with the man, staying only a few paces off to one side. He ignored her as she had expected, but still undoubtedly thought she would attack with her dagger, if anything. Unbeknownst to him, however, she had no intention of using physical force at all--instead, she was chanting the incantation for a spell that would halt his advance: Crescendo.

He stalked on coldly through the parched streets, going faster and faster to lose the tailing gypsy. Vaguely, he became aware of murmurs coming from her general direction, but before he could do anything about them, he found himself shoved to his knees by a shroud of suffocating shadow that blocked out the blazing sun overhead, and contained underneath it a great and gradually rising pressure that made his temples throb.

Somewhere nearby, he could hear the woman stopping and falling silent after a relieved sigh to herself.

OoC: Eh, it's short, but there you go. I'm still desperately in need of some inspiration. :embrsd: