I could have sworn it was snowing two seconds ago

The change in weather occurred quickly as the young Chunin traveled south. She had gone south west on accident for quite some time, it seemed that Miyu was absolutely terrible at reading maps, at least at the start of her journey. She had in fact originally intended to travel to Tengakure, one of the 5 major nations. She figured that would be a great place to start looking for a teacher, as she assumed that one of the 5 most powerful nations would have a swordsman that could teach her valuable techniques.

It wasn't until she had traveled past the land of Moon Country that she realized where she was however, and she ha din fact almost wondered into the Land of Earth. The young Chunin had been embarrassed when she asked an innkeeper how far Tengakure was, and had been told it was some distance to the East rather than south. After more questions and help from a couple of nice men she managed to figure out what she was, and the direction she needed to head if she wanted to reach Tengakure. However, Takigakure was closer, so she thought it would be alright to head their instead. Maybe she'd find a decent teacher there, or some similarly skilled shinobi that could teach her some new tricks.

The land around Miyu as she entered the Land of Waterfalls was a lot different from her homeland. For one, it was a lot warmer. As she trudged through the trees and the mushy ground beneath her feet, Miyu had taken off a number of layers of clothing. Now she only ha don a T-shirt and a small jacket, as well as a pair of loose fitting pants. Attached to her belt was her katana, which hung loosely on her left hip. Her giant pack pack was feeling a little heavy as she made her way towards the Takigakure.

Despite her boots getting dirty and the heat causing her to sweat a bit, Miyu couldn't help but smile. The land had a certain charm to it, and she enjoyed not having to wear multiple restricting layers of clothes to shield herself from the weather. She couldn't wait to find someone to spar, to see what it was like to fight in such a place as this. She cheerfully moved through the thick treeline, wondering how long it would take her to reach the village.

After a few hours of traveling, the young girl came across a waterfall. Actual, moving water. Ice was something commonly seen n Yukigakure, but running water was something Miyu hadn't really seen much of. Dropping her pack on the ground, the Chuunin rushed over to the waterfall, stepping onto the water building up beneath it. Chakra rushed into her feet as it met the water, this would be the first time she'd have the chance to use this technique out of the academy. That wasn't on her mind though, she was to busy focusing on the beautiful scene in front of her. She stopped a few feet from the waterfall, feeling the spray of the water leap up and touch her face. I was cool, not icy cold like any water found in Yuki. The water was so clear that Miyu could see her reflection in it. She undid the bun in her hair, taking a moment to admire her golden blond locks in her reflection. Her smile widened as she looked at her hair that she loved so much, I think I could like it here.

Miyu eventually manage dot tear herself away from the beautiful waterfall, she wanted to make it to the village before nightfall. Putting her hair back up and grabbing her pack, Miyu continued once more on her journey.

TWC: 628

[Safe travel to Takigakure]

Mithrandir paused in the middle of his walk. It had been quite some time now since he'd left the Village Hidden in the Clouds, and he'd all but given up hope of finding the cannibalistic ninja that had destroyed his life so thoroughly. Recently he had entered the Land of Iron on a tip, but had barely escaped with his life before being killed by some over-zealous samurai.

He had been walking for quite some time now, following random roads, killing and roasting animals to eat. It was hard with the little training he had received before defecting, but Mithrandir had managed. He hadn't committed any crimes yet, besides stealing the occasional bit of food when no one was looking, but it probably wouldn't be too far off in the future. He shook his head, the red and black scarf he was wearing rustling a little as he did so.

He had noticed the blond girl (He hazarded a guess that she was older than him at fourteen, maybe by one or two years) by a nearby waterfall, and had paused in his walking, wondering what to do. He had considered interrupting her, but wasn't sure how she would respond to the slashed headband that he had, obviously marking him as a Missing-Ninja. She seemed to be at peace as well, so he hadn't wanted to disturb her...

The girl started to walk away, and Mithrandir made up his mind. After quickly concealing his headband under his scarf, he made his way over to where she was walking. He would give her his original name; his new name might have been put on some kind of Missing-Ninja list for all he knew.

"Hello there, Miss. It's a pretty sight, isn't it?" He jerked his thumb back over to the waterfall that they had both just passed. 

"Do you mind terribly if I accompany you? I've been traveling for a while, and some normal, human company would do me some good, I think." He smiled at her brightly.


TWC: 337

Miyu was surprised when another traveler approached her, a teenage boy that didn't look much younger than herself. She wondered why he was this far away from any village, he didn't strike Miyu as a shinobi, and he didn't look like a merchant. It was strange, but Miyu didn't think anything suspicious of it.

When he mentioned the waterfall, Miyu nearly blushed, wondering if he saw he playing with her hair like an idiot. He didn't say anything about it though, so she didn't want to ask, "Yeah, were I come from I've never see anything like it."

The boy also seemed to want to travel with her. That was very surprising for the young Chunin. She took a moment to decide what to say, she wasn't used to keeping company with strangers. "Um... I guess?" she laughed nervously as she spoke the words, "I'm heading for Takigakure, where are you going?" As she finished the words, she would begin to walk towards the direction of the village, assuming that the mysterious young boy would follow her.

Mithrandir- no, Tsukare, raised his eyebrow, surprised at what this girl had said. 

"You've never seen a waterfall before? Back in- well, I'm pretty used to them, so I guess their charm has worn off a little... but I can still appreciate a good one."

He gave her a friendly smile before turning his head to the side, admiring the forest. It really was pretty, now that he wasn't fleeing away from the larger animals and focusing on surviving. Now that he could relax a little more, the forest and surrounding area seemed more... natural than before, for lack of a better word. The girl (who had to be a shinobi, from the way she moved) seemed to not have noticed that he had some training... which made sense, considering he hadn't used ninja techniques in a long time; he couldn't even really remember the hand seals anymore.

"Ah, sorry to impose on you like that," he began with another smile. "But I haven't really just talked and relaxed with someone in ages." 

"You're headed to Takigakure? I've never heard of that place before... I guess I really am out of the loop. I've been living in the wilds for a while you see; I guess that's one of the other reason's I wanted to talk to somebody."

Mithrandir glanced back at the waterfall for a second, admiring it. It really was a beautiful sight, now that things were a little more peaceful.

"If it's not to much trouble, I'll probably be heading to this Takigakure too. I haven't been to a village in quite some time - it'll be interesting to see."

The boy stopped himself mid sentence, another thing Miyu found odd. I guess people outside Yuki are different. She was also surprised that he said that aterfalls lost their charm after awhile, how could that be? They looked so wonderful, Miyu didn't know if she could ever force herself to leave this country.

Even though he was odd,the boy seemed friendly enough. Miyu couldn't help but enjoy the idea of traveling with someone, even though they were a stranger that to Miyu acted weird. She didn't know if she could trust him, he was a stranger after all, but as long as they reached Takigaure soon it wouldn't matter if she did. As far as she knew, they were less than a day away from the village, so they should be fine.

She listened to the boy talk a bit, he seemed very polite as well. He didn't look like a hermit, but that must of been what he was if he had't heard of the minor villages. Especially when he was so close to that village. "Well, we're pretty close by, if we keep heading this way we'll reach it in a few hours I think."

[Exit if Mithrandir will follow]

"Oh, so we're that close? ...Well, that's good to hear. I was hoping it was close by."

Mithrandir smiled again. Even after spending two years away from almost every other human, his natural happiness still showed. To be honest, he was a little worried about entering a village again, but he figured that he was barely even remembered in the Cloud Village, let alone a new (well, relatively new; he really was out of the loop) village.

"To be honest, I'm a little worried about entering a village after so long, but things should turn out well. To Takigakure it is." Mithrandir followed the girl as they continued walking to the village, taking in the scenery along the way.

[Exuant, Stage Left (with Kaori]