Reverse Perception

Pillagers and Proposals

When I awake the sunlight from my room peirces my eyes. It's the only window in the house that isn't blackened. The events of last night pour through my mind. How could I let myself fallback into the life like that so easily, I had good intentions but in the back of my mind I knew it was all probably a trick and I did it anyway. Took more lives. With a purse full of spoils under my shirt tucked into my waistline.
I sit up and as I expected Diivara is right there waiting for an answer.

"Aadaran stopped by, he said he hadn't seen you at all at the stables yesterday, you're lucky he didn't fire you" She says.

"I've just been feeling sick so I took a nap by the bushes down the street and slept all day I'll be there tomorrow"
I say,knowing it was a bad lie, she was blind not deaf.

"Was it the kind of nap that magically creates a coin purse loaded with silver"
The sound of a bag full of metal hits the wood floor.
She picked it off of me in my sleep.

I go silent, there's not a lot of explanations for so much at one time, except of course the obvious.

"If you're back in tell me that way I can at least start to expect that you might not be back one night"
Even as she said she knew it wasn't fair, but still I felt guilt, there were enough knife scars across my body to prove her point. Still I felt the need to defend myself.

"I brought home more coin than we've seen in 4 months, mudra
"
"You brought home a corpse's money, son"

"That didn't stop you three years ago from enjoying the coin" I say defensively.

She goes quiet and guilt strikes at me a again I walk towards her and hold her. There once was a time she towered over me now it is reversed and we stay like that for a short while.

"Just be careful Vaasvan, don't do anything ignorant"

"I promise Mudra".

I head out for work. I try to push the want to join again out of my darkened mind.

The only thing I could think of that would take my mind off of it was Wonderland, but I mustn't. Everything I'd worked so hard for would be destroyed by the innocent yet addictive drug. The more I think I about the more I crave it.

Only a few feet away from the stables I stop. The muddy desert terrain below my feet. I look into the puddle beneath me, and what I see terrifies me. All I see is a man. A man without danger, or adventure in his life. All I see is a mundane man and I desire the one I used to be. I desire the feats that left me laughing at the chaos. This compulsion to be the dangerous and adventurous man left me vulnerable. It puts my mother in jeopardy because without being whole, I cannot commit to one thing, I can't shield her if I cannot even be myself.  

My throat became dry. I clenched my fists. What do I do? I thought innocently to myself. I took a step towards the stables. Abruptly, there was a shrilling scream that came from the distance. I squinted my eyes to see the town was being raided by bandits.  Men with dark headscarfs pulled woman out of their homes. They lined them up. The men fought as the bandits entered their homes taking out every valuable object in sight.  The woman bawled as the children were loaded up into a carriage hauled by the Haav stolen from the stables. The women were sorted through like objects through looking for the more attractive ones that stood out. Half the women were loaded up along with the children. The rest were forced onto their knees along with the men.  I snap out of my trance of destruction.  I can't shield the town on my own. By the time the guard get here the south quarter will be destroyed. I head toward the Reneveers silently cursing my forced decision. I'm stopped by one of the raiders. He tries to hit me and I slug him back . In the midst, I pull out my knife stabbing him once in the back out the neck , severing his spine. I didn't want him to alert any other marauders, so I went for a kill shot. I pulled his body and dumped it in a ravine then continued towards my objective.  I took off, never glancing back. Arriving at the Reneveer hideout, I assess my choices. Let the town burn or rejoin the Reneveers. Wonderful option set. 

I pound the thick wooden door and it creaks open with a youngling the size of an end table staring terrifyingly up at me. They must've seen it all coming before anyone else and took shelter. Younglings weren't normally allowed in headquarters. 

"What do you want,  we don't have anymore room" 

"What I want is to talk to Kaadar immediately or we'll all die anyway"

The youngling looks at me with a mixture of thought and fear on his face before cracking the door open just enough so that I could get in. As I walk in the door closes behind me and my eyes have to readjust to the lighting. When they do I see a pack of youngling Reneveers huddled in the main hall. None of them cry, most of them have been closer to death than this. I push my way past a small group of them and into the "barracks". Kaadar stands here with the older Reneveers, the inner circle surrounding him and helping direct what looks like an escape plan.

"Kaadar!, the south quarter is in shambles and your plan is too escape and leave it to burn!?" I yell, making sure to call him out amongst those who I hope, might be thinking the same thing.

He stops and looks up searching for the source of my voice over the crowd, I step forward pushing a familiar thief out of my way. 

"Vaasvan glad you decided you could make it, sorry to say your opinion ain't worth a skettel right now, I lead and as long as I lead I make sure we survive" He spits out.

"And what of those of you that still have half a family left, those with a home. You all agree to let it burn while you save your own burnt hides" I shout to the crowd.

One brave soul yells out "Its not like we have a choice"

I turn to Kaadar and we stare each other in the eyes. "What do you suppose we do, go home to die like our parents, fighting off raiders" He says

"I expect us to protect our turf, who do you think is gonna be here after you all leave, I could give you at least three hints, and they all want a piece of South Jaazath" I say, maybe if i reason to him in his way it would help him realize this isn't the solution.

"What do you care "Vaas the Lost" if you're even worthy of the title anymore, Reveneer turf ain't got any meaning to you anymore"

"It does, considering I decided to take up your so tactfully offered proposal Kaadar"

Kaadar stands there expressionless.

"What does he mean K" Rythe says, 

"I offered him to join us up again, if he was done living like a dog" Kaadar says silently, beaten.

"So.." Riika trails off.

"He's back in" Byydel says smirking at Kaadar.