Closed Mysterious Silence [Cotton]

[Sedele]

Mysterious Silence 33rd of Spring, 513 The sky was dark, a sign to stay low and cautious. Sedele already had enough terrible thoughts to worry about, and an addition of poor weather would just about break her solid streak of sanity. She had the minor laceration on her forearm to worry about, of which hadn’t stopped bleeding since the occurrence; she had a headache that slowly crept past the line that separated a miniscule pounding from a tremendous migraine; worst of all, she had to track down a meal to eat before returning to a temporary stay near an old building, if it hadn’t already changed its illusive form by the time she had returned. Pellets of rain started to show themselves from the clouds, falling at a quick pace in rhythm to her heart. Things would have been so much easier if only her scent hound had returned from hunting in the opposite direction to help aid her in tracking down the wild hog she saw snooping around before. Not a tan hog, but a dark shadow showed itself from Sedele’s right, catching her off guard and sending her sprawling into a nearby bush. Her throat tumbled into her heart, both meeting one another in the bottomless pit of her stomach. Who would be out in the woods during such terrible weather? Who would be out in the woods at all? A mental slap at the head gave Sedele a good understanding of hypocrisy as she found herself one to be alone in the woods at such a point in time. The dark figure didn’t seem to react her Sedele’s sudden movements and continued to trek through the green shrubbery. Sedele was confused at first. Why surely someone would have heard her off guard movements. If she was prepared, she would have been as sneaky as ever, but then again she was still a minor in the arts of stealth and needed to practise more. The figure still hadn’t turned around before Sedele started to question her actions. Perhaps it wasn’t as loud as she had first presumed? But then the shadow turned, showing a creased face of a young boy with yellow eyes and shaggy dark hair. His eyes held a scarce bravery, mixed in with his curious, yet confused expression. On instinct Sedele knew she was vulnerable, her left leg and lower torso visible from the side of the plant. Her cover had been blown, which only left one other possible decision. Sedele reached behind her back to where her lash was clipped and sprung out from behind her makeshift hideout. Her hand was raised and in it was the whip, sharpened to its maximum with a wire of steel of unbalanced sides. She had landed in a crouched position with her other hand carefully placed on her left leather boot, prepared to reach in to retrieve her numerous Shurikens. “Halt,” Sedele spoke deeply, the rasp in her voice seeming to vibrate the grassy ground she crouched on. “Name and race,” she continued, never keeping her eyes off the young man. Whether he was hostile or not, unarmed or not or merely a hunter about his business, Sedele had come to trust no one and always be on guard. This male wasn’t any different.

[Cotton]

He was sent to a marketplace to purchase a few more ounces of dried berries and a pound of black beans by Anzu. His head hurt and his muscles felt raw and tight, swollen to twice their original size, but above all, Cotton felt tired as though the shore of energy in his mind was currently being washed over by multiple waves of fatigue.


The tall grass and thick weeds he trudged through clawed at his pants, their fine bristles within their leaves protruding the fabric in desire to get to flesh. Suddenly an itchy sensation crawled in that same, worrying Cotton into thinking that one of the plants he recently waded into had poison as its only defence. Worse than the distress of a rash from vegetation, the sky above started fading from a warm sunset orange to a thunderous black. Instantly, images from Cotton’s past rushed into his mind like a stream of water from a faucet, having been broken from overuse. The images were horrific and told pain and loss of freedom. The sky had been dark much like it was now when he was taken and the next thing he could comprehend was waking up with the vision of dull lighting, grey to black fur, yellow eyes and winged beasts staring down at him as though he were their next live meal.


Cotton tried to dismiss the flashback by concentrating on something else; humming something to himself he couldn’t hear, drumming his fingers on the side of his leg to a repetitive rhythm he could feel- anything to take away the frightening and morid pictures that caused Cotton much stress and anxiety. Another convenient distraction was that of a dark figure lunging into the bushes sought out from within his peripheral vision’s range. One thing that helped aid him in his struggle with his hearing loss was the natural heightening of both his sight, smell and sense of touch.


He paused his stride, but didn’t dare turn around to see what the dark being from behind was quite yet. Instead he waited until he saw it cautiously emerge from behind its makeshift hideaway and into view. He saw her speaking to him, though he could not hear it; he read the words before looking into her ly vibrant blue eyes. She wanted information, and by the glare of intimidation in her eyes, she wanted it now.


“Cotton,” he sputtered, wondering what his voice sounded like to the woman wearing all black leather that crouched low before him in the middle of the dark forest. “Mixed blood.” He knew saying that he was just a mixed blood was too vague of an answer on the information of his race, so he continued, “Semenestra, Vantha.”


The woman said more, but Cotton wasn’t looking at her and the whip that was poised like a threat in her raised hand. Just glancing at the weapon made chills run down his back. He pictured the feeling of it on his back whenever he did something his father did not like, which was not common but remembered well.. He pictured seeing the image of it lacerate his mother’s back as well as she denied him love and other goodies.

He was quickly pulled away from his violent flashbacks when he found himself looking back up and at the woman who had inquired him. The woman’s eyes were lighter, a closer shade to white than blue, and her face was contorted into a mask of rage and annoyance. What did she want? Who was she? And why was she in the forest, snooping about like an assassin of dark wrath?

[Sedele]

Why was this pesky human not listening to her? She didn’t care if he was part Semenestra or part crocodile, she wanted to know what his business was about doing in the middle of the woods and whether or not he was a spy seeking evidence or information about her. The way the boy bowed his head and did not look in her direction was most disrespectful and by his choices of ignoring and not answering her question doubled that effect of anger that was already held in a bottle inside her. “What are you doing here?” she seethed, repeating her question with more ferocity, wondering why he couldn’t just be like most locals and live in the city. Most of her incessant anger was merely being amplified by the embarrassment of being caught sneaking around by a small child. The boy finally looked up, flustered with large eyes wondering as to why Sedele was so enraged at him. She rolled her eyes in irritation. He was bound to know! Who wouldn’t be angry at someone who wouldn’t answer their questions appropriately? The boy quickly spoke of travelling through the forest to the marketplace, for he was heading in the direction of town. He said he was living in a tent with a friend and was alone at the moment. It was hard to hear the boy speak and not only because he was talking fast in anxiety. His voice sounded muffled as though it was shrouded by numerous blankets. He then explained he had lost his hearing since he was a baby, clearing up all the questions Sedele had about him. Sedele couldn’t help but laugh, as much as she tried to conceal it. A deaf boy travelling throughout the forest alone in this kind of weather? She hadn’t heard of that one before. Knowing this information about his disability and having taken notice of the boy’s lack in weapons and defensive gear, Sedele labelled the boy as no threat to her. She relaxed her stance and snorted, staring into the boys amber eyes and starting her stalk towards him. She knew what she had to do to keep this a secret.