Her Rebellion (Awkin)

It was going to be a long run back to the Dome—especially in slippers. They wouldn’t send anyone after her, she knew they didn’t operate like that, but it was hard not to feel alarmed. After all, that was why she was sprinting. She needed to run this out.

In all her years of service to her sisters, she had never felt an impulse to rebel. Not since Paris died, at least. What on Earth had come over her? she had begun to wonder. No…I know the answer to that. The prince guy—Merridale—he convinced me to do this. Because he was able to escape the iron grip of his parents…he seems to think I can do the same.

Her chest felt like it was burning. She wasn’t sure how much longer her legs could move, and yet still, she forged on, coming to a clearing now from which she hoped she could regain her bearings and sense of direction.

Can I do it? If I can get back Avello…he’s bigger now, he can breathe a little fire. But are the two of us enough?

She slowed her pace as her foot first stuck the terrain at the edge of the clearing, unearthing a blade of grass from its roots. Glancing up, she could see the sun hung low in the sky, its pale, orange-pink glow draining from the heavens to reveal stars strung like pearls in the east, and swelling in the west to a soft color like a melting, pastel sherbet. Obscuring view of the celestial show was the stark black silhouette of the Dome in the northwest. Cadenza couldn’t recall a time when she was more relieved to see that very building.

I think this may be the first time that I’m not confident we are enough. I’ll…I’ll need help, she thought, hesitant to even entertain the idea in the solitude of her own mind. Hunter lives in another dimension, but… there are my students. Oh gods forbid, I’ll have to request their… she gulped, but it was a dry swallow of oxygen-devoid air, rather than of saliva. …aid, she finished, and she cringed.

The foreign notion was almost enough to make her stop and reassess her whole decision. Maybe they…maybe they did gain my respect on that last assignment, but…that does not mean I should just start involving them in my personal matters. In fact—that doesn’t mean they want to be involved in the first place. Cadenza tried to heave a sigh at that, but it just added to the rasping fire in her parched lungs. For the first time in what felt like hours, she allowed herself a brief break from running.

I’ve got to try, she finally resolved, pounding a fist into her palm to punctuate the thought. They might be my only shot at accomplishing this…and…and if I’ve got to put aside my pride for a moment and ask for assistance…I’m no less of a person, right? I might have more fighting experience than all of my sisters, but if I go back home with just Avello, I’m a fool. Cut and dry, plain and simple—a fool. And possibly a dead fool. Cadenza grimaced at the thought, began running again. I won’t go down like that.

In a matter of hours, the exhausted gypsy arrived at the Dome, and took the time to re-acquaint herself through the use of an old map stored in her quiver. When she reached it, she discovered that the air duct she once used to sneak out to a bank to rob zecca was closed down for maintenance. She tore away the “X” of yellow tape with irreverence to its message, and hoisted herself up into the passage. As far as she could remember, she may have very well placed the tape there herself before to keep intruders out of her room.

The passage was longer than she recalled, and filled with new twists and disorienting drops that seemed unnecessary for a simple air duct. A cold gust emanated from the end Cadenza was advancing towards, despite the fact that the duct was supposedly in repairs and any climate controlling winds should not have been blowing through it. The absence of the pervasive aroma of her room’s incense was also troubling.

What did those accursed idiots do to my room? she thought, Turn it into a meat locker?

When she took the next turn, an unexpected drop deposited a shocked Cadenza into a dorm, where a familiar bear slept soundly. The woman’s dark eyes shot wide open at the sight, like the realization itself was a jolt of electricity. Gah! she cried in her mind. How could I have forgotten—the Dome shifts constantly! And now it’s…it’s landed me in Jhans’ room! I’m not ready yet!

So great to have you back, Aiko!

(Ic)

Some people think that the Dome is magical - and is used by the Gods to govern the affairs of Mortals.

Others think that the Dome is practical about reality, and that since it must happen somewhere - it can darn well happen here.

There is a strange kind of fish that thinks that the Dome is Logical - and every improbability curve must have its fair outcome.

But Jhans just think it's Ironic.


Jhans always dreamt. He dreamt of fallen comrades, of long-forgotten wars. He dreamt of spilt blood, of revenge. But now he dreamt of other things, happiness, companionship, and an amazing treasure. His companions each came stark into his mind - The demon boy, the Angel, the woman. And how they left him alone in the dome...

He dreamt of cold nights, cruel masters, harsh conditions. He dreamt of the woman again, her shape stark in his mind, Cadenza Madrigal. He remembered saving her life - he remembered the treasure... and then the world was full of loneliness and meaningless - of being left as a stranger in a foreign land.

His eyes peeled open, revealing his room. Grey the falcon is on a perch by the window, and his armour lays beside the bed, like a hollow bear, fossilised in the moment of sleep. He put it on, bending the impossibly strong Sky Iron rings between finger and thumb to connect the plates, and doing up the leather straps. Many attempts were put on his life - various warriors saw him as a challenge. And he knew. there was someone behind him - he knew it without it prodding him in the brain. Why do I think it's a friend?

He turned silently, no claws, no teeth, no menace. He came nose-to-nose with Cadenza - and stared at her with doleful blue eyes. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. He made a broken noise in his throat.


She... came back. They left me. Crept away in the night like rats.

And now she's back.


"I... will return in a hour, until then you shall rest." Cadenza showed all the signs of someone who hasn't slept in days, despite wearing night clothes. Jhans turned to leave, his mind boiling. He turned, glancing back at Cadanza - slim and shivering and bedraggled, standing in the middle of the floor. To leave her would be almost cruel. And she is an ally.

"Aagh... What do you want?"

OoC: Just as a side note, I included short profiles for each of Cadenza's sisters in her own profile, so that you can use them for reference when we encounter them. (http://www.zeldauniverse.net/forums/...tml#post815717)

BiC:
Cadenza wasn't quite sure just how to respond. She had never anticipated meeting face-to-face with any of her students this soon. And certainly not with one who apparently felt wounded by her abandonment. "I...I needed some...help," she began, "...and you seemed like my best bet."

The statement only seemed to bring what the gypsy perceived as a grumble from the bear.

"Of course, I've never been much of a gambler, so I'm afraid I'm quite ignorant of my actual odds in most situations," she added, trying to make a jab at herself in joking self-deprecation. She hoped her strained effort to admit to a fault would placate some of her former student's mixed emotions towards her, and demonstrate sympathy for him in a manner she could feel comfortable with. After all, Cadenza knew she had her shortcomings--perhaps they could find some common ground on that matter. It may at least show him I've changed some... or make him a touch more agreeable.

"Look," she started again, avoiding his penetrating stare. "I'm sorry for leaving before... see, I have these four very controlling sisters and they... they forced me to come back home. I don't know what it is about them, but I'm always submissive with them and... there was nothing I could do."

Cadenza didn't have to be a mind reader to see that Jhans wasn't entirely convinced by her story.

Such a weak attempt Cadenza… she said to herself. Why can’t you be more candid?

Jhans' mind was in turmoil. But it was the sea of turmoil when you know there's the rock you're standing on and keep returning to - the sort of half terror where you know there's only the one option out, but humour the idea of confusion in the hope of finding another one.

"You intend to break free from their hold?" Cadenza nodded. Hating himself, Jhans followed the idea. There was only one rock. Jhans sighed.

"And what do you intend to do after this manoeuvre?" Caedenza showed all the signs that she had when she taught the bear - quick-thinking and foolhardy. This is why she came to seek assistance of the only Panserbjørne who will deal with humans months after deserting him, wearing slippers.

"After this manoeuvre I may do whatever I please - that is why this must end!"

"Do your kin not treat you equal?" Another dream, usurping kings, mocking jeers, stolen pride. Exiled from his kind living as a lone voice. A voice forming a plan - an alliance of alliances, to rise up against the bear-king oppresor. Bears trying to be human...

Twenty years. And just how many allies do we have now?

Grey ruffled his feathers as the understanding flickered. From out outcast to another, a silent agreement was reached. Together they would forge a braveway Together, they would plan her rebellion.

"What actions do you intend?"

OoC: Cadenza actually always wears slippers--they're just not your average slippers. But we can just say the ones she has on now are less practical.

BiC:
Cadenza's lips curled into a silent smile. I knew I could place my trust in him. I read him correctly before.

"I...haven't had ample time to create much of a plan," she answered. "Essentially, I hoped to forge a small force to travel with back home and help me confront my sisters--our advantage being a much greater wealth of battle experience. The difference in numbers shouldn't be too staggering either... there's me, my dragon Avello, and..." Cadenza fixed her gaze on Jhans, "...you?" she said, leaving it somewhat open-ended.

She knew the more she appeared to be depending on him, the more weight would be placed to pressure him into helping. And forgiving, she hoped. The gypsy would have liked to say she had at least one ally in the Dome.

Understood. ^_^;

(Ic)

Yes. I shall come. So will my companion you have not met." By the window Grey clicked his beak. He flew across and perched on Jhans' shoulder as if on a silent command."The falcon. We shall help - if we can call on your allegiance when the time is nigh." Jhans didn't trust her yet. Why should he? He was doing this for his own benefit. You had to remain in an impartial state of affairs, or things start getting tangled and messy...

No.

No, you can't think like that or else you'd never get anywhere. The world is built on people who remain impartial, and look what that turned out like...

"Yes - you can rely upon me, Jhans." Cadenza smiled to a joke only she could hear. Maybe this was all going to her little plan. It was hard to tell. We were a team - dysfunctional, irate and not all too good at what we do... and these sisters ruined that. How?

"Aren't you free now? Can you not go through a door and be beyond your sister's reach? I see not why you are bound to them." Cadenza shuffled, seemingly embarrassed.

"Well, um... you see... us families..." A silence entered the room. A silence that refused to leave until someone broke it. It became evident that Cadenza did not intend to do so.

The bear walked to the wall, and pulled the ornate tapestry aside. Whatever the dome was, it was predictable.

"This hallway should lead you to your room, said Jhans without looking at it. He felt that the dome was delicate - if you gave it too much attention it might burst, like a soap bubble. It was beautiful if you let it alone. It worked as long as it moved fast enough so the laws of physics didn't have a chance to catch it up.

"We will talk again at sunset?" If they had shouted it would have been merely a confrontation. But this delicate politeness was, in its own way, open warfare.

"Yes - we shall."

Cadenza nodded a goodbye to the bear, and started down the hallway beyond the tapestry. As she walked, her heart raced in anticipation for the coming events, but her stomach, with similar over-stimulation, churned with anxiety. The adrenaline rush she was experiencing--it felt different than those she had experienced before, prior to a large heist. At the end of this, she knew she’d either be liberated or dead, but the latter could not dampen her spirits now. A hope for freedom, and finally not the usual riches, sustained her.

She shot back a glance towards her student’s room, the thought occurring to her that if they were indeed successful, she would owe him quite a lot. But that, she decided, was a debt she was willing to repay. The bear couldn’t be any farther in character from her manipulative sisters. It seemed they were polar opposites; as far anyone could be from another on the spectrum of morality. As she neared her dorm, the gypsy began wondering what had turned her sisters into the twisted people they were now.

Cadenza eventually came to the backside of one of the six mirror walls in her room, and found that it could slide into a slit in a concealed door jamb, revealing an entrance to the dorm. She pushed the wall of wood and glass aside, and entered, her senses instantly overwhelmed by the pungent aroma of the incense that perpetually burned inside. On her oval-shaped bed her dragon Avello slept, looking far larger and slightly older than she remembered. His little, nasally, reptilian snores came to an end at the first touch of Cadenza’s hand on his right wing.

“I don’t remember ever telling you that you could sleep there, you lazy bastard,” she said.

The creature groaned at the voice as he opened his eyes groggily. He had to double-take before realizing that it was, in fact, his master who had spoken. With renewed energy, he leapt towards her and knocked her onto the ground, affectionately licking her with his forked tongue.

“I haven’t been missing that long!” she shouted, with a grin that belied her sharp tone. “Get off, I’m serious!”

Avello let out a whine but obeyed and hoisted himself up off of the gypsy. The woman brushed herself off and stood, then immediately adopted a grave look that both worried and confused the dragon.

“Be quiet for a minute and let me talk,” she started. She began pacing back and forth. “See, I’ve… I’ve been doing some thinking, and have been given some advice. And all of that led me to the conclusion that I…I need to free myself from my sisters. I know…I know you don’t really know them that well, but take my word for it. They ar-they’ve become…heartless little wenches. Slave drivers. They don’t give a damn about our father anymore. And so…so I’ve got to do this. Only…I can’t do it alone.”

Avello took on a look of surprise at the admittance, but when it went ignored, resumed listening intently. Cadenza was still too caught up with the fever pitch of emotions that her rebellious thoughts stirred within her; she could pay no mind to anything else when she spoke of them.

“So this is where you…and some others…come in,” she continued. “I need you to come back to Rubato with me. Yes, I remember that you loathe the weather there—we’ll bring extra water just for you, okay? One of the others is something like a polar bear…so you can handle it if he can. Anyhow, we’re still in the early stages of formulating a plan, but essentially it’s going to boil down to some sort of battle. My oldest sister would never settle for diplomacy...”

Avello merely nodded. He couldn’t entirely comprehend what she was saying, but he had caught the gist: she needed his help.

Cadenza let out a sigh and her grave look faded. “Okay, enough of that for now. I need some rest.” She gave Avello an exhausted smile as she approached her bed, and even he could tell it was half-hearted.

And then with that, she plopped down onto her bed and was out like a light.
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She had almost forgotten the nightmares. The accursed incense burned incessantly in her room, just as it always had, making reality mingle with fear and doubt in the theater of her mind.

The insidious mirrors gleamed, began to play out a scene: Vivace in her blood red dress, a crimson smirk on her lips to match, torching some manner of scroll that Cadenza was reaching desperately for. Words came to her as the scorched pieces fell to the floor, and she fell to her knees.

Staccato Burst. She used her form of it—and destroyed the means for me to learn mine.

Her sisters then encircled her, weapons held in almost skeletal hands, their magic auras suffocating her. They began chanting a spell in an ancient tongue; not the spell they would not teach her, but something else altogether. As if an effect from the spell, her heart palpitated wildly.

It went on for several agonizing minutes, until finally Vivace stepped forth from the circle, a strangely familiar sword in her grasp. Unceremoniously, she thrust the blade forward, piercing Cadenza’s chest and spearing her through her pulsating heart. The sadistic woman then tore it out of her body, leaving her a bloody, horrific mess on the floor.

Somehow, the younger gypsy lingered on just long enough to hear her sister say: “It’s a Cernilian rapier. Many seem to die on weapons from that nation, do they not?”
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Cadenza awoke with a jolt, her breathing harsh and irregular. Her hand flew to her chest, and she waited to feel her heartbeat with bated breath. When it came, it brought tears of relief to her eyes.

“That was an irrational fear,” she said aloud, although it was directed to her alone. “Of course it’s there.”

She allowed herself a dubious glance around at her mirrors, then rose from bed and moved towards a window. It was nearly sunset.

She would tidy herself up and meet with Jhans, she thought. And then they would be on their way.

…But to what exactly?

Jhans looked out over the balustrade to the gardens below as the mass was sung. This was the graveyard that belonged to no God - it was for adventurers with no Gods to turn to and no family to care. There was always a few adventurers - acquaintances of the deceased and the old, bearded priest. He lived in a stone hut on the grounds, indistinguishable from the many crypts.

What would happen to me when I die?

You'll die in your armour. You shall turn to dust in your shell, and then that shall rust away to nothing.

Who would remember me?

Why do you need to be?

Cadenza was behind him. It wasn't as though he hadn't noticed her, but she moved with a silky confidence that almost made you disregard her presence. Avello wandered up next to Jhans, who ran a paw down his back. They all stood in silence as the bells rang for the lost warrior.

And then it was over.

Jhans turned around to Cadenza, unhooking his helmet. She was sitting, and looked pale and shaken. Jhans could smell the adrenalin in the air, staling with every passing breath. She has been attacked.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Jhans. I'll be fine." Jhans noted the discordance.

Avello strolled over and flomped next to his mistress, with a slight, scaly yawn.

"All those in confidence of the meeting to Rubato are here, and we are all quite safe in the secrecy that it provides. All that needs to be said should be said now, and all that you know should be told. I am listening."

OoC: Sadly I haven't been writing my best fiction lately, but I want to get this going so...

BiC:
Cadenza fiddled with the dagger at her waist. The silver pommel was cold; the unforgiving cold of a lethal blade. Much like a rapier, she thought. She resisted the impulse to recoil away. The woman swallowed hard and stood up straight, taking a firmer grip on the weapon's hilt. Then with an air of resolve, she began speaking to her allies. "Rubato is a country of uncompromising traditions..." she started, "...and my town of Santa Mariela is no exception. We tell no one of our intentions, lest you wish to have the entire city against us."

Avello shot Jhans a worried look at this. As the dragon had grown closer and closer to his owner, he had begun to adopt a more concerned attitude towards her, in contrast with his initial mischievousness. Any talk of misfortune or danger regarding her, and he became a nervous wreck.

Despite his feelings, Cadenza continued on to elaborate. They needed to know what to expect. "What we are doing--what we plan to do--is strongly frowned upon there. Family is sacred, and the eldest is the most revered leader of the family. With my father imprisoned, and my mother rendered frail by illness, my sister Vivace is viewed as the matriarch. Challenging that...well, challenging that is parallel with treason."

Grave looks were exchanged.

The gypsy stopped to consider her next words, struggling all the while to keep the hand on her dagger from trembling. As she did so, she also forced herself to keep her chin held high, making it clear that although it contradicted every value that had been instilled in her, there would be no shame on her part about this rebellion.

What she could not guarantee, however, was that there would be no fear from her. Her nightmare had only been fuel on the fire of insecurities and tensions she had been dealing with.

"There is one last thing I really want to establish before we discuss smaller details," she declared, making a fist with her free hand now. "To put it bluntly, I must demand that when the time comes, I face my sister Vivace alone. The others--Algretta, Luminari, Arietta--are all fair game, totally fine for any of you to fight against. But Vivace...Vivace is mine, and mine only. And if she is on the verge of killing me..." Cadenza found that her tongue stumbled upon the words. The woman had hoped never to have to speak of the incident which she was now discussing, but nevertheless recognized the necessity of addressing it. Death, unfortunately, was certainly plausible. Steeling herself, she started again, "...if she is on the verge of killing me...then let her. I will never be at peace with myself if I cannot defeat her."

She glanced around the room after finishing, knowing that her voice left no room for objections.

You intend to kill them O_o ?

(Ic)

"Your city is indeed one of magic users and foul tendencies," Jhans paused, momentarily. "and I had not realised you intend to kill your siblings. This presents problems -- I thought we travelled to break your bindings and therefore win your freedom - and not to make battle." Jhans had only seen a small sample of Cadenza's power - high in the mountains. To be outnumbered against three of them... How do we fight something like that?

"We'll do what we need to Jhans." Cadenza didn't actually deny it, to Jhans' mind she just made it even more evident that what must be done, must be done.

"Is it neccesary? Are you treating this as a last resort -- or as an intention? Also, I have never fought against such magics before... I have no idea what to expect. But if you tell me how to fight this, and we use the element of suprise to our advantage, we should be put in a strong position." Jhans watched Cadenza's face closely. He wasn't sure is she was telling him everything, so he watched her face for every twitch, every thought. Humans can be read like a book... and he sensed fear.

"Jhans, it'll be dangerous. They may hit us with any of multiple attacks, and they are powerful." Determination. Etched in every line of her face was the look of a crusader who knows that they're fighting for rightousness. These were both excellent signs.

"I give you my alliance as a Bjørn." Jhans used his own tounge for bear, but not his kin's name. He spoke for himself, not for his disregarded country. Jhans bowed his head.

"I shall fight at your side."

"How far would you follow me?"

"There is honour to be found dying for your cause," Jhans considered, "although dying needlessly is just foolish. I have faith in your plan." Jhans had no intention of dying. Life's a habit that's hard to break. As an afterthought, he added; "Are the sisters an antagonst -- or do they just hold their power over you?"

OoC: No, I don't plan to, silly. ;P

BiC:
Cadenza cast her face down darkly, and spoke in a somber tone, "You do not know the extent of Vivace's power. Her vile tendrils of influence are found in each and every institution in Santa Mariela. My other sisters--they're just pawns...and my own flesh-and-blood--I do hope that we are not forced to bring any permanent harm to them. But as I said...we will do what we must to extricate Vivace's malign hold over everything."

Jhans considered this new information quietly.

The gypsy continued, feeling the need to justify her intentions fully. "I have reason to believe she's even sabotaged that which she claims to fight for; she seems to have reversed and perhaps even set us back with our goal of freeing our father and obtaining our revenge on the man that wronged him...and it is no coincidence that since she came to power in our family, our mother's health has slipped farther and farther."

This isn't necessarily a question of power, Jhans considered, for we are obviously outnumbered. We may need to get political.

"Maybe it is that we can appeal to your sisters, if they are told Vivace is betraying their cause." Jhans sat in thought -- they were presented with a dilemma.

"That may be so, Jhans -- we must wait and see what the situation presents."

I still wish to know what I'm going to be fighting. I shall need every advantage I can muster. Jhans stood, and then swung himself up onto his hind legs, stumbling as he sought balance.

"I wish you to attack me with a spell," He said. "If it can be known, I do not wish to enter the den of the dragon without knowing the flame." Again, he carefully examined Cadenza's face as she deliberated his decision, and patiently awaited the outcome.

"Fair enough, Jhans." And she removed the trio of feathers from her hair. "This won't hurt -- but try to fight it."

Cadenza held the feathers over her face, close to her lips and began to chant almost song-like words. Her voice sounded strange through the feathers, almost pipe-like and reeded at the same time. Bears are not easily tricked, and Jhans could see the feathers resonating. He also felt a strange, calm quiet closing in. The panserbjørne have no word for 'Peace', just 'Non-war'. So Jhans felt this sensation of serene tranquility as a burning unto the mind, so alien it was to him. And he fought it back, biting and squirming and growling rage as it failed to take him. He wondered it this was the entirety of the enchantment.

Swffffpp.

Cadenza slashed out with the feathers, and brought them in front of Jhans' nose with a flourish. He felt his flesh go cold, and he felt, strangely, like he was trapped in his skin. Cadenza looked up from her ending position, panting.

"Not bad, bear. But you fell for the stunning."

OoC: A little spark of inspiration strikes!

BiC:
Jhans was unable to reply, his face set in a look of grim determination he could not alter. Blazing eyes stared steadily out of an unflinching, unblinking, and unfeeling face.

Cadenza replaced the feathers in her hair, watching the bear for any flicker of his large, bright eyes to betray his frozen expression. She studied him for several moments like this, nodding her head, muttering, observing; presumably scrutinizing his resistance and reactions to her magic or some such matter. Once she seemed satisfied with the data she had gathered, she opened her rouged lips to speak.

“Stunning will not be a major concern, however,” she said at first, apparently emending her previous comment. “Only Vivace wields a slightly similar spell, but judging from your reactions…” she paused to glance over the bear once more, “…judging from your reactions, I don’t believe you’ll fall for it. Though you should be made aware of what sorts of spells and weapons they are inclined to use.”

A stir from Jhans told Cadenza that he was beginning to regain some feeling in his limbs. The gypsy smiled at this.

She began walking back and forth in front of him, gesturing with her hands in a very Rubatoian way as she spoke. “Each of us specializes in a different earthly element: with mine, as you may have guessed, being shadow. The next oldest after me, Arietta, uses wind, and you’ll find she relies heavily on one spell, my form of which they refuse to teach me. It’s called Staccato Burst, and each of them has acquired knowledge of it in their respective elements.”

There was a thoughtful blink and a strained effort to lean forward from Jhans that told the woman how intently he was listening.

Cadenza continued on, “The spell allows them to shoot concentrated bursts of magic of their element from their hands, without any sort of incantation. This will be Arietta’s main means of attack, if things come down to it. She’s highly dependant on Vivace’s orders, and she can rarely decide on a course of action herself. If confronted by her alone, a battle should be far from our minds.”

The bear had recovered next to full use of his faculties by this time, and Cadenza paused to motion him over to a seat to listen. There was still a great deal of information and observations for her to share.

“Arietta owns a collection of steel throwing knives and a small, sharp metallic boomerang, but as I said, she is not likely to use them. She is somewhat clumsy and has foolishly begun using steel gauntlets that restrict flexibility in her wrists and prevent her from using her weapons with much skill.”

Jhans was proving to be a bear of few words when absorbed in thought. And it was just as well, because Cadenza seldom reacted kindly to interruptions.

She went on, still walking back and forth, “The next oldest is Luminari, practitioner of light magic. She’s someone to be worried about. She may come off as serene, but by the Gods, she’d cut out your heart and eat it if Vivace demanded it. She can counteract any of my shadow magic, as I can her light with a spell of mine, and she can heal the other sisters. And she’s no amateur with her sword, although I still have the most fighting experience of the whole family. She, like Vivace, isn’t too keen on diplomacy.”

A grave look befell Jhans’ previously stoic face at this new information. He sat in silence, contemplating.

“The second eldest is Algretta,” Cadenza proceeded, “she uses water magic and is our best bet for a nonviolent resolution. She’s very measured in her actions, as you are, but she’s also very cold. Emotional pleas won’t persuade her too easily. She’s not quick to fight, but when she does, she’ll use a metallic rod with some degree of proficiency.”

The gypsy found that her hand trembled before she had even spoken the next name aloud, and she cursed the quivering silently. Up until this point, she had managed to be quite composed and speak eloquently. But now, she could not bestill her hand, nor slow her pounding heart. Jhans appeared to notice the change.

“Last…last is Vivace, user of fire magic. Aside from Staccato Burst she has a spell called Hypnotize…that employs her fire-resistant whip. Just avoid staring into the spinning illusion she makes and you should be okay. And…they all have a spell called Harmony that allows them to call upon a spell from another sister, but since they’ve never used it in battle before, they’re not sure how to execute it right. The best fighters will be Luminari and Vivace, and they’ll be the least willing to settle things without a fight. I have extreme doubts that there’s a chance Vivace will allow it at all.”

Cadenza suppressed a gulp at that, and ignoring her rapidly thumping heart, she took a seat on the floor across from Jhans. Out of her quiver the woman drew a yellowing scroll of parchment, which unfolded to reveal hastily drawn plans of the Madrigals' modest abode. She turned the paper so as to be right-side-up in regards to Jhans, and then stood up again, like she was too energized to stay sitting.

She awaited a remark from him with bated breath as he examined her handmade diagram. After a long silence, he finally spoke, paw trained upon a certain spot of the paper.

“It is strange that you have a chimney with a fireplace if Rubato is such a torrid land,” he commented offhandedly, not removing his gaze from the page.

“It’s not for heating the house,” Cadenza replied, smirking. “It’s for warming dyes to print counterfeit zecca bills.” She remained silent for a moment after, as if reflecting upon what she had just said, but then thought to add, “If you’re thinking of possibly having one of us enter from there, be careful—it’s possible that it’ll be in use when we arrive.”
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OoC: I doubt you will, but I need to say this just in case: try not to jump on ahead to when they arrive in Cadenza's town in part of your next post. I have something I need them to do first.

That's more like it Aiko!

(Ic)

When it came to travelling light, Jhans was the master. Well, at least he would be the master if what he did take wasn't a 600lb set of meteoric armour, or a large stone maul. Cadenza told him that Rubato was only a few hours walk from the southern gate, where he now waits. He's acquired waterskins, and awaits his companions. He could have hired a donkey, but it would've slowed them down -- and it was only a two hour walk to their destination.

Evil sisters, dark magic, heroic duo and (¿adorable?) small creature -- it all seemed so much like a book. And Jhans was increasingly aware that it was Cadenza's story -- he was along as a bit of hired muscle and morale support.The path of a lone bear was a hard one to tread alone. As Jhans had realised many times before, he needed allies and friends. And death couldn't stop him. Fight the witches, raise the stakes. No-one's going to raise them for you. No-one would marvel if you did the possible. Jhans needed word to get out -- and he was inwardly happy towards Cadenza for presenting him with this opportunity.

He saw Cadenza's head bobbing through the slit windows as she trotted down the steps, and swung round into the courtyard. She nodded to him, and turned to wait for Avello. Without a word, the three walked out through the gates.

---

They were headed southeast, towards the humid lands of Cadenza's people. Avello was in high spirits: stumping along wheezing merrily. Cadenza, arms by her side, stumbles along after him. They are in wooded land, slightly muddy and full of obstacles. After a short while, Cadenza pipes up.

"Jhans," She said, "Whatever happened to, you know, that golden elixir?" Jhans smiled inside, Cadenza still had that thirst for treasure. He thought of it in the small armed chest in his chamber. Well-protected, a switchblade in the lid could well cause permanent digestion problems to the casual thief. The wax seal, still unopened.

"Not much. It lies as hidden as whence we found it -- but with no demon guard. It is unopened."

"Oh." Cadenza sounded disappointed.

Over the course of the morning they passed down a wooded valley, the trees of which grew scarce as they progressed. At length they gave way altogether onto a barren, hollowed ground. The mountains were once volcanoes, and large plates of even ground, sometimes a mile long, cut their descent into steps. Occasionally, huddled between two high rock faces, is a small hut or villa. Occasionally their path would cross that of the river, where a green lake had formed on the palette. Finding a safe route for Jhans to descend proved difficult, and it was only long into the afternoon that they reached Rubato.

(OoC)

I'm a-gonna let you describe this place, I don't want to get your town wrong ^^;.

OoC: Hehe, good, I was hoping you'd let me do it.

IC:
A wistful, imagined wind seemed to blow by Cadenza, leaving her breathless as they gazed over the lofty cliff of the sand-and-rust colored mesa, down into the poor town where the gypsy had been born and raised. This tired and dusty little place was a place to which her and all of the other Santa Marielanos were chained, their sad fates and fortunes determined from the day they were brought into being. Cadenza was made painfully aware of this more often then most; again and again she had tried to distance herself from the quicksands of crime and hatred that consumed each and every bright-eyed child and ambitious-minded teen, even going so far as to enroll at the school in prestigious Blancwood. But somehow, the woman was perpetually dragged back to where she had begun; back gazing up at the distrustful windows and glaring sun; back ensnared in the clutches of all the disreputable politicians like the ambassador Ciatore, back in the range of the corrupt police who'd put a man who makes his living by inventing in jail before a man who earns his bread by killing, and back in the grip tightest around her of all: back in Vivace's bloodthirsty, despotic hands.

It was all enough to make her sick; terribly, unutterably sick. And so, it was without a single twinge of homesickness in her eyes or voice that she told Jhans to hold off for a moment before entering Santa Mariela, for they had one more errand to run before doing so. The gypsy, her tawny cloak aswirl with the wild gusts rolling off the dunes, led bear and dragon along the outskirts of the city, down from the edge of the bone-dry mesa with a face protruding like an hawk's beak from the shapeless sands. For many meters she marched, and they followed, until they finally came to a solitary gray shack beside a hollow where an oasis once gurgled with cool water.

Cadenza's willowy hand emerged from her sleeve and beat out a rhythm on the door.

A sliding section of wood at nearly-eye-level that none of the party had noticed before shifted in response, revealing deep-set, coal black eyes wedged in a face of dust-tinged, bronzed skin.

“Who are you?” a man inquired in a heavily accented baritone.

Under the shade of her cowl, Cadenza's expression couldn't be easily read, but Jhans could see from the discreet clutching and unclutching of her hands that this was some sort of verbal test, and she was nervous about her ability to perform. "Sono sempre la stessa persona," she rattled off, in what the bear perceived as the native tongue. I’m the same person I always was.

The eyes beyond the door searched Cadenza's face for a long, tense moment, giving forth a few unintelligible grunts now and again. Finally, the man said in a clearer tone, "S'all right, Algretta. I s'pose that creature's good enough."

Jhans, feeling a little alarmed by the way the man's beady eyes lingered over him, glanced quickly over to Cadenza to see her lips curve into a soft smile. A slight wink from the woman sought to placate his nerves, but the bear was on the alert nonetheless.

Gypsy, bear, and dragon entered one-by-one, following behind the ox of a man as he took long, hard strides across a vinyl floor pocked by deep craters. It was at one of these craters that the man stopped and knelt down, thrusting one of his great, golden arms deep inside, out of sight. He gave a small exclamation of satisfaction at the sound of one of his gargutuan fingers striking some sort of box, and bending his arm like the hook of a crane, he lowered himself closer to the floor, struggling to fish the container out of the dark.

Cadenza watched this all with an air of silent and contained anticipation, glancing over at Jhans every few moments to assure him that all was going well. Avello fidgeted next to her, curiousity nagging at his mind.

After some minutes, the man had success. Hoisting up a box of black leather, wrapped in purple linen, he smiled a gold-and-yellow-toothed grin that stretched from ear to floppy ear, and presented the token to Cadenza. " 'Ere, Signorina," he said, his eyes moving afterwards to look expectantly at Jhans.

The gypsy accepted the box with measured excitement, and nodded in thanks to the man. " 'Brigada. You shall now have my end of the bargain."

With an seemingly uncharacteristic and rather startling squeal of joy, the man rushed over to an old bureau in the corner and pulled out something gray and rectangular that was too obscured by his plump fingers for Jhans to identify. He hurried back to the bear, and a thought seemed to come to him. Turning to Cadenza, he asked, "Does he...?"

The woman didn't need him to finish the question. "...does he speak Gaian? Yes, he speaks it quite well, go ahead. Just keep in mind that he speaks the Germanic dialect from the northern countries."

The man nodded and looked back at Jhans. "Okay then, bear, look this way."

With some hesitation, Jhans complied, if only to put his own curiosity to rest. Smiling broadly, the man opened his hands and revealed an antique camera that he handled with great care and fondness. Motioning for the bear to position himself as he wished, he held up the camera before his dark eyes, and when all was set, thumbed the squeaky button. A brighter flash than Cadenza thought the old device capable of shone brilliantly off every surface in the room.

"Perfect!" the man cried, clasping his large hands together. "My lil' friend will like this one."

"Good, I'm glad. Now, also in return, you'll give me the two other things I requested, correct?"

"Yes, yes," the man said, black locks fanning the air as he nodded his head eagerly. "I 'ave been wantin' to get rid of the last bracer, and a nice lady like 'gretta will always have my promise of secrecy."

The man produced a scuffed silver ring from his vest pocket large enough to fit around the thickest of tree branches, and placed it in Cadenza's outstretched hand. Her tan skin turned to gooseflesh at the touch of the device. "Precisely calibrated, I see," she said offhandedly, and dipped a grateful nod to the man once more. "It's been a pleasure, Raton."

The man beamed back. "Same 'ere, Signorina."

Beckoning Jhans and Avello to follow with a hand, Cadenza pocketed the box and the bracer and exited into the red sun of the Rubato afternoon. After walking a few paces in the sand, she suddenly stopped, and taking the ring from her pocket, told Jhans to hold still as she placed it on his right foreleg.

"This is a temperature bracer my sister Algretta invented before she turned her genius to lesser endeavors. I don't care if you think you need it or not--it'll keep you nice and cool, at your ideal body heat, and you'll find yourself grateful for it."

The bear let the woman clamp the cold device around his leg without complaint. When she had finished, he let the group resume a normal walking pace before carefully asking, "What was in the box?" his voice not prying nor pushy, but just genuinely interested.

"A scroll for my version of Staccato Burst. I dug around some when I was recalled home, and found that Algretta had left it in the care of that guy, Raton. And what with all the gossip flowing through town, it wasn't hard to learn that that man has an eccentric girlfriend that enjoys collecting pictures of rare and-" Cadenza coughed to muffle the next word "-strange...creatures, and that he would do anything to get another photo for her."

Jhans nodded in understanding, not seeming to take offense at the label which he had been given. "Very resourceful of you," he stated approvingly.

It wasn't long before the group found themselves back at the limits of Santa Mariela. The pueblo-style homes and wooden buildings with thatched rooves howled with the midday, sand-laden wind, as little, despondent, barred windows peered out onto the empty streets. Children with unwashed faces stared from doorways as Cadenza and her allies rounded a corner into the shady alleyways that snaked around the backs of bars and stores. Scant light gleamed through holes in the brittle, orange eaves overhead, creating complex patterns on the dusty stones as the three passed over them.

After some time, they turned onto the street on which the Madrigal home was located, and Cadenza looked back at Jhans and Avello with a meaningful gaze. "Anything to say before this begins?" she asked. Something apprehensive about her voice told the bear that part of her hoped there was something to stall their entry.

Jhans considered this: "No... only that that I don't intend to die today." Cadenza sniffed.

"Good. No famous last stands, no fancy final words or anything. I won't stand a martyr."

"Indeed."

Jhans went ahead to inspect the house, while Cadenza lingered behind. It is tall, wide and deep. Keeping to the meager shadows, Jhans nonchalantly sauntered round the narrow lane at the side of the house, using what he hoped was a decent amount of nonchalance, and just enough saunter so as not to be suspicious. Cadenza caught up -- slinking at a duck down the side of the building, cat-grabbing up to each window in turn, bringing her knees up to her chin and peering into the shutters. Jhans waited for her to catch him up.

"I can't see anyone, bear."

Jhans took the maul off his back, uncoiled the rope he'd attached round the handle, and carefully crafted a cloverslip in the end of it. He handed the knotted end to Cadenza.

"How high do you reckon this place is?"

Cadenza shrugged. "About forty feet...What do you intend, bear?"

"It seems the only way of entry is by force, unless you have a key?" Cadenza shook her head, eyes fixed at the floor in front of her -- listening intently. "Then smashing our way in would achieve no great favors for or cause. This chimney... you may be lowered down into it?"

"Of course, but..."

"Do you have a better plan? You can proceed to the roof, but you will have to avoid detection coming back through the house. You can open the door from the inside?" Cadenza seemed somewhat angered by this plan, maybe she didn't want to admit it was plausible. But trying to understand the human mind is, for the beast, like teaching a snail the finer aspects of viola playing.

Jhans heavily heaved the rope up -- the hitch on the end catching on a chimney. He tested it, before handing the end to Cadenza. Gripping it in both hands, she began to climb. Slowly, she reached the top with no great event. Quietly stumbling over the uneven tiles, she left from Jhans' sight.

Slowly and cautiously, Cadenza approached the seemingly superfluous chimney, and upon reaching it, bent over the aperture to peer judiciously inside. She wiped a forefinger across the dun-colored bricks, and withdrawing back found it coated in red-and-azure dust. The color of zecca dyes, she observed, but there is no smoke from burning wood accompanying it, as there always is. They aren't counterfeiting today.

Assured that her passage was secure, the gypsy hefted herself up into the vertical shaft, testing her footing on a firmly-wedged brick of the wall before completely lowering herself inside. As she half-repelled, half climbed down the flue, she took care to avoid certain bricks that were pulled farther out than most; Vivace had tried to return home through this very outlandish way once, when she had misplaced her house keys and was desperate not to be caught by their father Galliard. The clever inventor had dislodged certain bricks enough for them to jut out from the ash-covered walls, making them appealing footholds for one climbing down the length of the chimney, but also on these bricks he had placed sensors, and it was through the use of these technological aids that he had caught his eldest daughter in the act. Cadenza had no doubt that Algretta, who evidently had inherited her father's knack for ingenuity, would keep tabs on any possible intruder from the chimney in just the same manner, and so it was with great prudence that she repelled past these traps onto the smoother, uniform sections of wall.

As the gypsy came to the end of her small journey, she flipped herself upside down, held up merely by the rope, to peek out into the room from the cover of the fireplace. The parlor was silent; stacks of papers sat out on the Blancwood beech coffee table, a languid yellow reading light shining upon them, and cups of wine and trays of Rubatoian pasteries lay near them on a neighboring ottoman. Clearly the papers were important enough that careful attention was taken not to spill upon them, for usually their ill mother would never allow wine and food on the upholstery, and that was one of the few rules, however trivial, that Vivace still respected.

Thinking of their mother, Cadenza was reminded to take another whiff of the air to search for cigarette smoke as she turned herself right-side-up and landed softly on her feet in the fireplace. No, nothing, she thought, taking one last smell. The weak-willed woman would never give up her comforting little habit. She's not home.

With this confirmation, the gypsy gingerly made her way across the sepia carpeting to the table, and began scrutinizing the papers piled upon it. There were a few scrolls, mostly wind spells, but also a few shadow tricks which she promptly and eagerly stuffed into her quiver. Underneath all of this, there lay a note scrawled most quickly on a torn corner of an envelope, with an address and a name Cadenza did not wholly recognize; the town she knew was the port town of Sereia, one of the few ports left to Rubato after the Blancwood-Cernilian War, and the name seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't summon to mind the source where she had seen or heard it from. After some deliberation, the gypsy chose to pocket the note as well. Once she had rearranged the papers back into their piles, she turned her attention back to the task at hand, and stole through the parlor to the kitchen where a side door was located.

Cadenza unlocked the door with the quietest turn of hand imaginable, and swung the baize green-hued slab open just as noiselessly. Around the corner, Jhans was awaiting her patiently, and at the beckoning sign of her slender hand, he came padding down the lane to the inconspicuous entranceway.

Jhans contorted himself through the small door, twisting to get his forearms through first, and then when they were firmly planted, his hind legs. The place was silent apart from the occasional clink of the bear's armour, every one of which made Cadenza flinch. Jhans spoke in less than a whisper, his voice the lowest growl.

"Anyone here?" Cadenza shook her head. "Good." Deftly, Jhans padded around the kitchen, his muzzle close to the ground. He froze, and layed a paw on the immense arger. He turned to Cadenza.

"It's still burning, so they intend to return. But it's not recently kindled, which means that they left... in the morning? The bracer giving him soothing, cooling waves of cold -- he opened the hatch, and noticed a fold of paper lying on the embers, charred and blacked around the edges. Slowly, he reached in and plucked it up with two claws. Closing the arger door with one soft swoop of paw, he unfolded the paper on the floor, under one of the slats of light from the high, barred windows.

Cadenza, turning her attention from some more papers laid out of the breakfast table, came over. The coolness made Jhans' mind fabulously clear, and thoughts came splashing through his mind like water. Some of the words were still readable, if you move the paper so it caught the light like this -- the light gleamed off the ink. He handed it to Cadenza.

"Can you read this?"

Cadenza poured over the paper for a hew minutes, and look up.

"It says they have a meeting at the... fifth hour? That's hours ago. It's with one of their little contacts over in San Christobal -- a good four hours ride away? They could well be back within the hour."

Jhans' mind was racing. They have the upper hand. Suprise, and time to move things to their advantage. Do they set a trap? Hide behind the door and snipe them one by one? But still, the plan had to be well implemented before their return.

"Do you think they all went to this parler?"

Dark curls bobbed as Cadenza shook her head. "No," she whispered, "that's very unlike them."

In her gliding, confident-striding, hips-swaying way of walking, she strode over to a door where a great stretch of dimly-lit basement stairs stood, and put her finger up to her lips to signal for complete silence.

"I should check the basement," she mouthed back, before easing a foot upon the first of the steps.

As the gypsy went down, her hands trailed along the wine-red walls on either side, pausing at rectangular panels that looked like laundry chutes and fuse boxes and vigilantly searching out each hollowed space behind them. I've been in so many high-security strongholds, but none could ever match the distrusting, and perhaps even paranoid, quality of this house. Trap-doors line the walls parallel to every staircase; peepholes and surveillance devices nestle themselves in the cover of knick-knacks and potted plants; sensors hide upon chimney bricks. Our home truly is a madhouse.

At the bottom of the stair, the basement lay dark, lonely, and creaking, save for the striking flashes of a machine and the low whir of cooling fans. There were many areas to hide here; hulking devices that once toiled for Galliard Madrigal were scattered among heaps of wires and steel, and the many unfinished projects of the genius Algretta protruded in strange, cold shapes from the mess; russet-colored, wooden racks of tools and sensors and bolts framed the disorganization on each side, penning it in; and there, at the western end, old, gray steps peered out upon the sandy alley and from there into the wilds of Santa Mariela. Alarmingly out of place in this scene was a sofa of heather green, with a small woman seated upon it, her face obscured by creeping strands of hair like black vines, and a soft lavender veil.

Her face froze, startled by the imposing figure of Cadenza amid all the disorder. She let out a haggard cough, and her eyes fixed upon the woman. In a husky tone, she spoke, "Oh...oh thank the gods! It's my youngest, Cadenza dear!"

The younger woman's face remained impassive as she bowed and replied, "Buenas tardes, Sonya."

With some effort, the little body upon the couch choked out another hoarse cough. "Ohoho, now now, I know we have our issues, honey, but you know you are not to call your old mother by her first name."

"Yes, pardon my disrespectful tongue, Mother. If you would be so kind as to allow me the pleasure, I shall go upstairs and brew you some tea, all right?"

Thin lips pulled into a smile as the elder lady nodded. "Yes, all right, thank you hija."

Slowly, Cadenza made her way back through the mess and up the stairs, shutting the door behind her once she had reached the kitchen. She listened for a quiet moment, and Jhans waited patiently until she rushed over and clapped him on the shoulder, a suspicious and urgent thrill to her breathless voice.

"One of them is here--Luminari is here. She's dressed as our mother, and with imprudence on both our parts, we caught sight of each other, although neither of us gave so much as a hint to our motives. They have to be expecting someone else--they'd know that mother disguise would never fool me.

"She now knows I'm here, but we know that she's here. I suggest we send Avello out to scout and see if the others are returning home--he knows what they look like, and knows what neighborhoods to avoid. He can give us a heads up when he sees them, and we...we have a great opportunity to plan."
---------------------------------------------
Violet wings scanned the Santa Mariela cityscape as sharp, alert green eyes ran over each alley and twist. On the outskirts, a blue-clad woman was found bartering with a merchant before steadfastly advancing through the streets. There was Algretta.

On the opposite end of the sandy expanse of buildings, a vision of flowing, blood-red strolled through crowds that parted at the very sight of her. Every motion commanded respect and deference--it was Vivace.

Consulting his memory of the sisters, that left one yet to be seen--the second youngest, Arietta, who generally took care of the Madrigals' mother. Was she returning home with the others, or was she already there, prepared to complete Luminari's disguise by playing her usual role of caretaker to whoever they were expecting?

As Cadenza waited for Avello's return, Jhans kept an eye on the cellar door. He wanders the kitchen and glances into the neighbouring rooms, trusting that this was the only way into the cellar -- not that the Madrigals would ever leave only one means of escape.

Jhans' armour scraped against a battered bronze plate on the wall, and it made a hollow, deep sound that reverberated long after contact had ceased. Slowly, he turned to the row of panels, set into the wall, and flicked each of them with a claw in turn. Most made but a tinny 'Clink', but this panel made a sound like a hammer was striking the plate. Cautiously, he slotted his claws in behind the panel, and pulled. It came away easily, closely followed by a blade that clanged off his armour. Silently, Jhans clicked the spring back into place and peered down the shaft. Far, far below there was a sandy floor, and a dirty iron ladder lead down to it. Jhans wondered about the trap -- the sword would have caused permanent digestive trouble to the casual plumber, or unwary escapee. Looking at the serrated edge, it was primarily designed to cut into the backs of people trying to enter the house.

What kind of people are they?

From this thought, Jhans realises he must find a place to hide before the Madrigal's return... somewhere without hidden blades and strange machines which can see you move. Playing along with whatever plot the Madrigals were already planning seems the best bet, but they need at least some idea of what that is, and how much they know.

Motives for dressing up as Madrigal senior: Jhans thought to himself, To be captured and presumed to be who you are not, to fool someone into thinking that they are dealing with the real thing, whether the impersonated are willing or not...

Avello appeared at one of the windows, and Cadenza hurried in out of the hall to retrieve him.

Maybe... Cadenza could incorporate herself into this action, and hope her sisters cannot scorn her for fear of giving her away. If she feigns ignorance about their mother, but surely she's too proud to do so? He turned to face her.

"Do you have a plan? I do not know enough about what they are planning to think of one." This was not entirely accurate. He could think of many plans, but they involved mostly hiding behind doors with a heavy object in hand.

"Unless something comes to hand, we'll just have to play with what comes along, bear." Cadenza said calmly. "Improvise and suchlike. I can only guess as to what's going on."

Jhans thought about the barbs on the walls, and the blade hidden in the escape panel, and decided mere guesswork would be folly when dealing with such an unpredictable, vicious family.