Conan*Cassidy

The night was brisk with late-winter chill, but she still hadn't put on more than a short-sleeve. True to form, Cassidy leaned against the rails of the old, rickety bridge, clad in a sheer red top that left oh-so-little to the imagination, and was just almost opaquely see-through, but not quite. A tight, black leather mini-skirt that reached barely low enough to cover the underclothes showed off the length of her white, white legs, which ending in a pair of needle-heel shoes of a red that matched the top exactly.

The hair was free-flowing tonight, floating unrestrained on the light breeze that made the evening just a touch too cool for comfort, but not cold enough to merit a coat. This wind played gaily with a single strand of the long, heavy locks, lifting the long-hanging length of it and flicking it about her face, up into her eyes at one point before she used a dainty hand to push it away, back behind her ear where it belonged.

And, across the bridge, concealed completely in the trees by the road, the dark form of Conan crouched, motioning to Nadeem to be absolutely silent and do the same. An arrow was already leveled at Cassidy, waiting for the moment she turned her face away...

Nadeem Tarak

Crouched beside Conan, Nadeem was struggling to quell the anxiety and fear that was clutching at his gut. He had had plenty of dangerous encounters with animals in the wild, but never had he done anything like this before, getting tangled up with humans in a deadly game. When an animal wanted to kill you, they went all out to kill you. But humans... the more sinister of the bunch drew out the process in all sorts of creative and horrific means.

Heart thumping like a jackhammer, the young man did manage to remain utterly still and silent, and despite what qualms he had about shooting arrows at people, he couldn't help but stare at the scarecly-clad woman and feel a nagging guilt and sense of wrong about the whole thing.

Conan*Cassidy

Several silent minutes passed, with the boy's eyes tearing into Cassidy with a cold calculation that was way too intense to be impersonal. Even in the darkness of their hiding place, it was obvious that the hatred in his eyes was deep and hot, and well-founded long ago.

Slowly, Cassidy was becoming frustrated. Usually she had no trouble finding takers for her "services" here, especially at this time of evening when the sun was just on the verge of dipping behind the horizon. She was just beginning to tap her foot in impatience when a half-heard whir made her shift her glance, just in time to hear a "thock" and see an arrow bury itself into the wood of the bridge not two inches from the tapping appendage.

A blink's time showed her with dagger in hand, as if appearing out of nowhere, and her eyes silently on the trees were Conan and Nadeem crouched. And, certainly enough, a nano-second later, a second arrow whooshed through the brush, this time thudding into her thigh as she was not quick enough to dodge. A hiss left her, but she had enough sense to dodge and roll away, coming back to her feet a few feet down the bridge's length, her eyes still on the bushes. "Come out and fight me, dirt bag! Show yourself!" Her voice was loud and angry, but unafraid.

But as she reached down to break off the arrow that had embedded itself in her leg, she quickly noted the flight feathers: and saw, in her mind's eye, a shaft splintering the panes of a window, and nailing with great force a note onto the wall. All in a moment, she made the assumption that Conan had expected her to: the Akatsuki had come to take their revenge for her defense of Ben and her wounding of their warriors.

"Never mind!" she spat coldly, flourishing the end of the feathered shaft to the bushes. "I read you loud and clear! We'll take care of this the old-fashioned way!"

Nadeem Tarak

He flinched when the second arrow whizzed through the air and pierced into the woman's leg. But his fear really spiked when she turned around and taunted them, calling out defiantly to her unseen assailant. If he had gotten hit, he knew he'd have turned and fled for his life. Seeing how Cassidy boldly responded only went to remind him just how dangerous and resiliant these people were.

Only after Cassidy ran off did Nadeem dare to move and speak in a hushed whisper, "I think that worked. Now..." His dark brows hunched together in a show of concern, "We should keep a close eye on Raimi's whereabouts. The last thing we want is for the Akatsuki to take out revenge on the CS and harm him."

Conan*Cassidy

Conan's eyes were on Cassidy's retreating form as she moved toward a silver truck and revved the engine peeling out of her parking place, now headed to find the heads of her gang. It shouldn't been too difficult: this was the Wednesday after the 15th of the month, which could only mean one thing... they were down at the bay. The truck swerved in that direction before rumbling out of sight.

Conan, on the other hand, gave no indication that he had heard Nadeem at all, staring after her with the same coldness, though perhaps deeper, that he had directed at Nadeem himself earlier. After a moment, he seemed to recover himself, and reached for the final arrow that he'd fletched with the red goose feathers. With a jerk, he pulled them from the shaft and reached to his pocket, soon producing a book of matches and setting the feather alight. He used his other hand to quickly rummage through the thick blanket of leaves on the ground and lay the burning thing on the dirt, letting it burn itself out as he removed the arrowhead and tucked it into his pocket, throwing the shaft down among the leaves and sticks, into which it promptly disappeared. That done, he looked briefly to Nadeem, and then took off into the woods. Cassidy, in her truck, would have to take the road to get to the bay, but through the trees, on foot, it was a short run. If they were lucky, they'd reach the bay at about the same time the woman did.