NO FREEDOM IN TRAVESTY (OPEN)

[vaan]

The day had been long, and so dusk could not have come at a more opportune time than when it did. Vaan had taken this day for himself, away from the Castle Town and its dwellings, away from the kids that were, more or less, like children to Vaan, who taught them the ways of the world and of magic, and anything else he happened to know. His common and everyday practice tired him out, and the young man needed a break during the weekday at some point or other. He did, like few men truly did, love the forest at nighttime.

And so he stepped into it with full anticipation, matched by the beauty of the forest at night. The fireflies were out, illuminating the soft and lush ground and the trees around it with the occasional fading in and out of the attractive green light that came from their bodies. The moon and stars both shone down into the forest clearing, creating a beautiful and serene picture in Vaan's mind that seemed to tell him that he wasn't truly there experiencing it all, but in fact, he was.

The scene was breathtaking to say the least, which came from someone who frequented the places that were Nature's dwelling, especially in the eve, when things were at the most beautiful. When the common folk were gone, the forest lit itself up, seemingly eager for someone of interest to come along and discover it, and it so happened that Vaan was one of those people. More than almost anything that Hyrule had to offer, Vaan enjoyed the serenity and nighttime beauty that the Faron Woods held. It never changed, never diminished, never faded in the slightest; in fact, it was almost as if it became more beautiful with every visit, perhaps because Vaan didn't get to come often.

Thereafter, admiring still what Hyrule's mother nature had to offer, Vaan found a soft place under a tree, where the fireflies were dense, and the lights of the moon and stars were clearly visible. His green eyes reflected the light back into the sky, but they stopped doing so, as Vaan slowly began to shut his eyes, take in the world around him, and slowly drift off into a beautiful and sound sleep, wrapped in the caressing glow of the woods...

[Mamimi Raharu]

It was too goddamn quiet in this goddamned forest.

Sure, there were the usual naturey sounds; chirping crickets and rustling leaves and the like. But it was still way too quiet. She missed the nighttime travelers and the people bustling about even in the middle of the night in Castle Town. So what the hell was the woman doing in a place like Faron Woods?

It beat the hell out of her. She had Haruko on her back and an unlit cigarette in her hand, and she was bored out of her skull. There was nothing to do in the woods. Mamimi couldn't even remember why she had come there to begin with. All she knew was that she was freakin' bored and it was freakin' quiet and she wanted to make some freakin' noise.

Completely oblivious of the sleeping boy below, Mamimi quickly scaled a tree in a few short leaps and straddled a thick branch. Once situated, she lit her cigarette and took a couple of drags, watched the smoke trail up into the night sky above, then pulled her guitar from its case and onto her lap.

Slowly, softly, she strummed a few chords, then gradually she built up speed and volume until she had the bass for a song going. If that didn't wake up everything in the surrounding area, nothing would~

[vaan]

Vaan's dreams were surprisingly short. Normally, when the young and very lazy man dreamed, his dreams lasted for a long time; what he seemed to think were hours, though in reality, were simply extended periods of minutes. He was seeing himself as the King of Hyrule, a job he would NEVER want, and it scared him to death. Scared him, along with some unknown noise, to wake him from his slumber... and that was not an easy thing to do.

Looking around, he noticed the forest hadn't changed much. The fireflies became more frantic, though he knew why. There was some strange noise coming from somewhere-- it sounded like from above him-- and the whole forest was quickly in an uproar. Slowly and with as little effort as possible, Vaan stood from his laying position at the tree's base and looked up into its branches.

"Err, umm..." He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. There really was a girl up in the tree above him, and he was no longer dreaming. She was holding an instrument, and playing it loudly, as well as smoking. God, how Vaan hated smoking. Though it was slight, he offered the unknown girl a slightly disgusted look. He also wondered if she knew the danger that those things had to her heath.

The young man sighed. He looked to the forest floor and closed his eyes momentarily, using the time to scratch the itch on the back of his head. He carefully bit his lip, thinking of what to do. The noise was seriously becoming more annoying, though the playing and skill itself was nothing to be ashamed of. The loudness, especially in the night, was definitely uncalled for in Vaan's mind.

So he offered her a half-hearted wave, and a chuckle. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked with a common nonchalant attitude in his voice.

[Mamimi Raharu]

She was so focused on her playing that she failed to notice the young man get up from his nappy time below; in fact, she didn't even know he was there until there was a lull in her playing, and his voice rang out in the sudden silence.

Mamimi blinked once, twice, then let out an ear-piercing screech. She jumped down from the tree, landing squarely on her feet without even a flinch, raised her guitar and swung it at the guy, all the while screaming "STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGERRRRR!"

After her initial swing, she bounced back and scuttled behind the tree she had previously occupied, scowling and waving Haruko around as if to threaten the dude. Stupid people sneaking up on her while she was playing guitar. Who did he think he was!?

As the woman grumbled under her breath, it suddenly occurred to her-- he would be a stranger if she got his name, right? Then there wouldn't be any stranger danger, and she wouldn't have to smack him with Haruko and damage her precious baby guitar! So then everyone would win!

"Hey, dude!" she shouted, unnecessarily loud, considering their proximity. "Mamimi, Mamimi Raharu. Who're you?"

[vaan]

"W-what?" Vaan was taken aback as the girl leaped from the tree and began her assault. She was swinging wildly with her instrument in an attempt to knock him out; though Vaan guessed a clean hit to the head with such a powerful weapon would do a little more than knock him unconscious. Clumsily, he sidestepped to avoid the blows, a horrified expression written on his face. His green eyes trembled with fear, and he attempted multiple times to interject, fearing for his head all the while. This girl was insane.

The young man knew he'd picked the wrong night to come wandering around in the forest after having met this psycho. Sure, he was a stranger; he knew that all too well, but what mature adult-- or young adult, or teenager, in reality-- acted like such a child about it? Vaan continued to dodge, working up a sweat. Still clumsily he dodged the blows that would surely give him more than he wanted. Vaan knew he could always strike back, or summon Bedlam, but it didn't seem so serious just yet. It was comforting, however, to know he could fall back on such means.

Eventually, she stopped. How fortunate it was, Vaan thought, as he was growing tired. The strange thing about her ceasing her assault was that she quickly assumed that everything was okay; that they were on good terms. Vaan heaved breaths in and out, resting his hands on his knees as he panted for air. He stared at her with an expression of simple fear as she introduced herself, and then he began to cough out of fatigue and out of surprise. Was this really happening?

"Well," he said with a laugh and a relieved smile, "I guess it's nice to meet you, even though you could have nearly killed me," he continued, still laughing. He then fell on his ass and let out a huge breath. "I'm Vaan."

[Mamimi Raharu]

Mamimi rolled her eyes as she strode out from behind her tree and put a hand on her hip, swinging her guitar so that the non-bladed side was resting on her shoulder. "I don't kill people, man~ Even if you died it wouldn't be my fault. It's Haruko, obviously." By Haruko she meant, of course, her guitar. But she didn't bother explaining what Haruko was, and instead strutted over to the kid she had pounced on and screamed at.

"Vaan, huh?" She leaned in to stare at the Hylian, completely disregarding her violation of his personal space as their noses touched. Her eyes narrowed, her lips twisted into a scowl, and she suddenly turned away from Vaan, hmphing in annoyance. "You gotta learn to take a hit, bro."

[vaan]

Vaan looked from the face of the girl to the massive beast of an instrument resting on her shoulder. How immature and childish it was to believe that the hand behind the weapon wasn't the killer; it was the weapon itself. If Vaan cared enough, he would have scoffed. Instead, he looked between her and the instrument, who he deductively reasoned was Haruko. How interesting a name for an instrument, Vaan thought. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and yawned.

"Indeed." Vaan said, totally unfazed as the girl got up in his face and met his nose. His expression was dull and unchanging as she did, and he didn't move. He wondered how old she was. It wasn't often he ran into someone who acted so childish. Then again, she seemed to be like a polar opposite to him; she seemed full of energy, while Vaan would rather leave and go back to sleep.

His face turned into a confused scowl as she added that he needed to learn to take a hit. His gaze floated back to the instrument, and thought about what a hit would be with that thing. If he were to take a direct hit from that, he may not survive to take another. "Um..." He began, absently scratching the back of his head. "I don't think I could take any more than one hit from that thing."

[Mamimi Raharu]

"Pansy~!" she sang, bouncing around Vaan with a broad smirk plastered on her face. "Pansy, pansy, Va~an's a pansy!"

Was she an immature child, even though she was twenty-one years old? Abso-fuckin'-lutely! So when Mamimi twirled and wiggled her ass in Vaan's face, it was perfectly normal in her mind, just as everything else she did was perfectly normal. She was more normal than burned toast and orange juice on a rainy Tuesday. Obviously.

"You just gotta get used to getting hit, man!" she shouted, hefting Haruko up and over her head. "Get hit enough times and BAM! It doesn't hurt anymore! It makes perfect sense, boy, so get ready! Batter-batter-batter-batter-batter-SWING~!"

Yep. She swung the guitar straight at Vaan's head.