Reverse Perception

Loss of Innocence

"Everyone who isn't afraid of dying like animals in the sand, raise your daggers, If any of you don't wish to fight, pack up and leave and congratulate yourselves for being smart"Kaadar yells out to the crowd surrounding him

None raises for a time my hopes drop, they really intend to let this place be destroyed.

Then a gleaming silver military dagger raises to the ceiling, the hand holding it belonging to Bydel.

"We've worked day and evening to make something here in Jaazath and my work isn't going to be ruined by mere self preservation" The intelligent words coming free. His mouth curved with ulterior motive as always.

Dagger after dagger raise until my very own points toward the heavens and all who resists is Kaadar.

"Im still the boss Vaasy" He says and reluctantly raises his new scimitar upwards. 

"Then where do you propose we begin,  K?"

"Your the strategist. Come up with a plan."

"I say we move for taking out their front line. We get Vlakaya to arm a handful of our shadow soldiers with sacks of White Tracer and shower as many raiders as possible in it drugging them making them easier to fight off. During that time we gather as much Tracer we have left into a large feeding bag, tie it to a Haav and send it into the rest of the raiders and use its influence to scare them out" I say thinking as quickly as I could

"You want to scare away the people terrifying south Jaazath?" Kaadar asks me intentionally trying to shoot it down.

"Any better ideas, oh I know we could all get the Shakes on some of your Soldier an run away like cowards" I spit out at him. HIs jaw clenches in anger but shakes his head no.

"Then this is what we are going to do " I say and look over to Vlakaya " You know the plan"

We all head out, grabbing all the materials needed. 

********

"There they are".  Whispered Kaadar.

  We took out the front two raiders protecting the town gates so that we could enter without them alerting other guards.  We set their bodies down quietly and put on foot in front of the other. Slowly we entered through the gates. We motioned for the first team of Reneveers to start showering as many guards as the could in Vlakaya's drugs. Soon you could hear a battle taking place. My mind travels to Diivara, I wonder if she's okay but I tell myself that not only can she take care of herself but we live in the outpart of town where nobody goes. It is unlikely that the bandits even traveled down that way. I push the thought out of my mind and focus on the battle at hand. Kaddar motions for me to come forth. We head to an area nearby the stables that is heavily guarded by the raiders most likely indicating that it is where the Boss of them are, we creep around close to it concealed in the shadows of the night, having waited to strike at night when they were most vulnerable to the tracer, and hoping to find a clue of who tried to take over our town. In the midst of tracer throwing and stabbing, I somehow seemed to have been stabbed in the leg ,the adrenaline of the earlier fight must've kept it off my mind . I kept moving forward, wanting to get back to my Diivara. 

'You good" Said Kaadar sounding concerned for me. I nod and we continue on until we see a small hole in their defenses in the form of an outer tent. I cut a slit quietly into the canvas cloth and peak inside see two of the raiders sleeping with other people's blood on their clothes. Disgusted I put my hand over one's mouth and quickly slash his throat and I turn to finish the other to see Kaadar had already gotten to him. His red stained teeth smiling back at me like a wicked and joyful wolf. "Lets go I say" in quiet and controlled tone.  We head toward the tent that we assume is the commander's tent due to the decoration that surrounds it. Each step we take crumbles the harsh and dry ground leaving small imprints of where our boots pressed the ground. The tension among us is thick enough to alert the camp alone set aside the crunching of the dry earth beneath us. Then we hear the Haav bark impersonation that is the signal the shadow soldiers are supposed to give when they're ready. 

Kaadar and I look at each other and he smiles and whispers "Your call Vaas the Boss". For once during this whole ordeal I smile. It takes this much to put our friendship back together. I nod my head and he smiled and screams "Intruders!, intruders in the camp." and laughs a little. 

The aptly named Shadow Soldiers run into the camp as the raiders emerge from their tents in confusion and ready to fight. Me, Kaadar, and the rest of our infiltrating thieves cover our mouths in our desert rags as the white powder rains from the sky after being tossed by the Shadows. 

Then the raiders begin to scream. White Tracer, usually a vice people use to escape the harsh reality of poverty, isn't for the faint of heart, or for tense raiders being taken unexpectedly by it. To them they see us as monsters as we and our Shadows bludgeon, stab, and slash the throats and skulls of their comrades. One raider wearing a rag comes out of the commander's tent brandishing a finely engraved sword comes running and slashes Yuuri,a 15 year old pickpocket, in the leg and throws a knife at Kaadar that barely misses him.  Yuuri, briefly letting go of his leg, throws his dagger expertly impaling the raider chief's hand. Kaadar takes advantage and grabs him, breaking his arm and forcing him to the ground slapping him in the face after covering his hand with White Tracer. The chief looks back up with considerably less fire in his eyes , in its place an icy look of terror. Kaadar gets in his face laughing and bites his cheek hard tearing a bleeding chunk with it. Crude, but the chief wont come back after that. 

"Tracer bomb!!" I hear someone yell, quickly Kaadar puts his rag back over his mouth and we see a Haav run through the camp tracer tied to its leg. Im knocked over by a screaming raider face first in the dry dirt. I scramble to put my rag back on, then I see a serpent of fire sliding throughout the camp, blood running from its jaw of inferno. I hear Kaadar curse and then everything suddenly goes black.