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Cinder's POV:
Playing the Hero
I make sure to keep my hood up as I wander through the town. It's early morning (not that you can tell with the everlasting night) and according to Maha, this is roughly the time when most of the citizens will be out and about. And, by extension, the time I'm most likely to come across a soldier abusing his power.
Then again, even when its supposedly at its most active, the town seems pretty dead. Sure, I'm seeing more people wandering around the streets, but it's nothing compared to rush hour at the Commonwealth. I don't know if the practically empty streets are because the people are kept too busy with work, or simply because they're afraid to go outside. Either way, it's unnerving to say the least.
Even so, I don't think I'll have to look too hard for some corruption. Most of the people have bruises on their faces, some fresh and dark, some more faded, but they're there. The people's cheeks are sunken with hunger, and their eyes are dull with despair.
Can't say I blame them. These people have been trodden on their whole lives. Told they were lesser beings, punished for the smallest reasons, living in constant fear of starvation, execution, beating, or some other grisly end. This was their reality, the world they'd grown up in and the world their children would be born into. The world their parents had lived in, and their grandparents, and their great-grandparents and so on. It's been like this for so long, that they can't imagine another life. They've accepted their lot in this world, unfair though it was, and dealt with their suffering without complaint.
I scowl. Well if I have anything to say about it, that won't go on for much longer.
The werewolves don't so much as glance at me as I walk down the street. I take that as a good sign. With Maha's help, I managed to construct a glamour so that I won't be found out as an unusually scruffy vampire. I've kept the dirt-smears on my face, but I made my skin paler, my form thinner. My cheeks have become sunken-in and I've put heavy bags under my eyes. I've even altered my smell (as best as I can) to match Maha's description of what a typical werewolf smells like.
I do my best to mimic their slumped, defeated posture as I wander the streets. My window for how long I can do this is short, otherwise I'll end up the person the guards are beating up. But, as Kai said before I headed out, "if it doesn't work, we'll just keep trying."
Still, if I don't come across an incident soon, I'm thinking I'm going to have to let myself be attack-
A shrill scream cuts through the air like a knife. The other werewolves jump and look in the direction of the noise, but quickly move on.
I sigh. The fact that it doesn't seem like a big deal for them is probably the saddest thing I've encountered so far. Luckily for the person screaming, it's a very big deal for me.
I run off in the general direction of the scream, drawing more than a few weird looks from the townsfolk in the process. The screaming has faded now, but as I draw closer, I start to hear desperate sobs and gasps. I press my back flat against the outer wall of a building and peer around the corner, trying to get a read on the situation.
There's a soldier, gripping the arm of a teenage girl tightly in one hand, and caressing her neck with the other. With each touch, the girl recoils as if she was burned, and her sobs grow a little louder.
"I don't see why you're putting up such a fuss." The soldier says, "After all, I'm a fine example of our species, wouldn't you agree?"
When the girl doesn't respond, he suddenly grips her neck. She gasps and instinctively try to pry away his fingers, but he kicks her in the side, making her yelp in pain and quickly nod her head.
The soldier grins, revealing unusually sharp teeth. "That's what I thought."
That's about as much as I can take.
I step out from my hiding place and advance purposefully over to them. The both of them look up, the guard confused, the girl terrified.
"In case you didn't get the message, she's not interested in you." I shout, "So if you would be a gentleman and leave her be, that would be great."
The soldier snarls and tosses the girl to the side. She scrambles to her feet and runs behind a nearby building.
I frown. Well that's going to make the whole "spreading the word" part of the plan harder. But right now, I have an angry soldier to worry about.
"Clearly you don't understand what's happening here Peasant." He spits.
"I understand perfectly well." I reply calmly, "You are a soldier, drunk with power, who wanted to have his way with a younger girl and is now throwing a temper tantrum because someone's not going to let you get away with it."
He barks a laugh. Literally, barks. "I can do what I like. What you're not going to get away with, is disrespecting a superior."
"How are you superior to me, exactly? From what I've seen so far, you're nothing but an overgrown puppy."
He growls. I narrow my eyes. Whatever I'm about to do, I'd better do it fast. I need to make it clear that it's a vampire helping the werewolves, and that means using my gift. A gift, that werewolves are nearly immune to when they shift into their wolf-form. And judging by how angry this guy is getting, it won't be much longer before he resorts to those exact measures.
"You," He snarls, "have absolutely no right to order me about."
I shrug. "Well, I don't know about rights, but I definitely can order you about."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I frown in concentration.
Suddenly, the soldier punches himself in the face. He shakes his head, blinking in shock, before his other hand comes up and punches him again. He then sprints toward one of the surrounding houses, bowing his head like a charging bull, and rams the concrete wall head-first. His eyes roll back, and he crumples to the ground, limp and unconscious.
I smirk. "It's supposed to mean that."
I glance up, checking to see if anyone saw me and… there's the girl. Her head is poking out from behind the house she chose as her hiding place. Her eyes are wide. With fear? Or admiration? I can't tell.
I wave and grin in what I hope is a friendly way. "Stay safe! And if another one of these guys tries to push you around, don't let them."
With that, I turn and speed-walk away. I do not want to be around here when that soldier is found.
A/N: I'm back! With regular updates! Woohoo!
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