An endless rainfall [Second Element Training]

Angerona meditated within the confines of the mountain caves which she had grown used to dwelling within after having served the blade she referred to as a 'Goddess' for some time, having become conditioned to the darkness and learned to often stray from the light as it would only show to all whom witnessed just how far she gone she was and how much that she had changed since leaving her home village of Kumogakure: Her skin was a few shades paler, her body littered with scars, her deep red eyes now seemed blank more than anything as if it she was not truly there. Moreover her clothing had become tattered and frayed in some places and she had been forced to restitch and resew many of the garments that she wore, most important to her being the cape which flowed from her back in a long silken white strand that to her represented who she was and what she stood for. To the young missing ninja it would make her think back to when she first adorned it: She had pictured herself as a hero then, someone who was set upon this world not to destroy but to protect and save those in need, however the blade had twisted that desire into something else entirely and now she lived only to serve every whim of a foreign Goddess in order to provide 'Salvation' toward those she met by way of absorbing their souls, something that she still had troubles with even after this long. She would shake her head slowly before standing up from her previous sitting position against the cave wall and mutter to herself about freeing herself from the tortures of her own mind and needing something desperately that would at least distract her for some time - So with that it was that the young Angerona decided to train and hopefully begin learning something new rather than focusing upon the skills which her 'Goddess' decreed useful to her, she wanted to have something that was her own and would serve as a way to take her mind off all of this killing, all of this evil.

Slowly she then began to walk further into the caves of the mountain before her as she eventually came across an area in which there was a large pool of water that was cool to the touch, bringing back memories of what felt like years ago, when she was still safely within the borders of Kumogakure; The village which she called home. She remembered that day as vividly as if it were being lived once more within her mind - She recalled each and every spoken word, each promise that was made and each that was later broken. She remembered most vividly of all another figure that she had to this day been determined to meet once more and seek out vengeance for her broken heart and soul. Angerona sought vengeance not just for those words, not just for the promises, but for having taken up the blade due to all of this and making her life the way it was now; a constant feeling of being on the run, a constant search for sanctuary and peace of mind - Endless torment, it seemed. 

As her thoughts raced through her mind, Angerona would move toward the pool of water and notice something strange - droplets would seem to begin moving into the air as she approached and when she stopped they too halted in their movements and fell back into the collection that was the pool. It was a very strange discovery and, to test it further, Angerona would then place one hand to the water and slowly raise it up into the air as she noticed that oddly enough droplets once more began to follow her movement and when she closed her hand they dispersed and returned to the water that was before her. She had never truly noticed this ability that she had gained before, but perhaps she had merely overlooked it previously? No one was around to clarify this although she would rationalize inwardly that it must be something of a show for her training and that possibly would give birth to a whole new way of offence and defense, a new way to think and furthermore a way for her to escape the constant harassment that the sword would often give and escape into her own thoughts with the peaceful way that was the water itself, she could flow with the waves and begin thinking anew and possibly take the first step in regaining her own humanity.

Angerona would continue practicing with the newly found elemental affinity by moving the water in various ways with her hand motions before then allowing it to return to the pool with a close of her hand. She did this method of training for several hours before she eventually decided that it would not do to only perform simply movements with the hands and instead would place her hand to the ground as she summoned her kitsune ally, Noriko Tama - One whom she had made a pact with several moons ago and had since served the young Wielder faithfully and offered council often to the woman who often had trouble thinking upon her own. 

Noriko would gaze upon Angerona with a firm expression and awaited her to speak before she would do so herself, not wanting to risk having to deal with speaking to the "Goddess" Aufero who was more often than not rather temperamental and lacked the rational thinking that even Angerona was capable of, it seeming more content with blood and souls than thought and freedom. Eventually the young Angerona would speak up softly toward the kitsune, proclaiming: "I need you to attack me . . . I want to see just how much control I have over this new element." and with that, Noriko would do as asked and begin moving forward and her tails began to rise up behind her in a posture that was ready to strike, this being one of her forms of attack seeing as they outnumbered her greatly and were fast enough that - to at least ordinary humans - she would be able to attack relentlessly, although the Wielder was much more than human at this point so that factor meant little, the main purpose still being that it allowed for more attacks.

Angerona closed her eyes, raising one hand into the air as water began to move, coinciding with her hand as she awaited the attack of her summoned ally. Before the attack even made contact with the young Wielder, she had sensed it and quickly performed a lateral movement with her hand as a small line of water would take the full force of the blow with ease and in response she would use her other hand to thrust toward the kitsune as a powerful burst of water was emitted and slammed into her torso with enough force to knock her onto her back - although Noriko had quickly gotten back up and dashed forward, attacking with all of her tails in rapid succession. Responding to each of this attacks with inhumanly fast movements of her hands, Angerona simply smiled as she opened her eyes to gaze upon the kitsune Noriko with a wide smile and said quite simply: "This is much easier to control than I had thought it would be - I feel almost as if I am part of the water . . . " she would continue to block for several movements, moving along with the flow of the other's attack until eventually she would grasp one of the tails in her hand and stop the kitsune there with a nod: "Thank you . . . Shrine Guardian Tama." She would say, thanking the woman with a formal title in order to accentuate the respect she had for her and furthermore place less focus upon the spar which had been completely fruitless for the shrine guardian seeing as her abilities were far below Angerona's own, however still very useful when the time came and all-in-all she was a worthy ally and kind of heart, something that the young Wielder appreciated.

She would bow her head toward the kitsune and say softly: "You may return to your realm for now . . . I will summon you again soon." as Noriko would disappear into a poof of smoke, leaving Angerona to her own thoughts and that of the Goddess Aufero whom had been completely quiet this entire time, something which was very unlike the sword although she would not question the peace of mind that she was granted even if it were for only that short time within her training. As if in response to her thoughts, the snake-like voice of the blade known as Solis Aufero, the one who ruled over Angerona and prevented her from sleep and attempted to eliminate the human emotions that she still to this day harbored: "You are doing well, Yuriko." The blade said in a pleased tone, even going so far as to use the Missing Ninja's real name rather than her alias that she had used since leaving the village of Kumogakure after an altercation with her previous sensei due to both the blade itself and the man's refusal to give her the one thing that could have prevented his having to duel the Goddess Aufero when the time came: His Soul. 

Angerona shook her head slowly, pushing the thought of her former sensei out of her mind as she responded to the blade now with a quiet voice that shook with emotion even though she attempted to hide it: "Thank you, Goddess . . . " as she spoke, the blade's dark energy that flowed like the air even though it consisted of shadows would begin to wrap around her and caress her with gentle waves of warmth and attempted to dissuade her from thinking about the past when she was doing so much more in the present: "My poor Yuriko, so troubled by her humanity . . . You should truly give it all up, allow me to overtake you completely and let all that was once human flow from your heart and mind as you are given release from all of this horror that lies before you, all of the hatred the world is showing you . . . All the sadness." at this, Angerona briefly considered doing as the blade suggested and giving up her humanity in exchange for peace of mind and freedom from her own punishing thoughts, but then the image of her newly found ally and the possibility of regaining her soul one day was too great to simply ignore, so with that she would shake her head softly and reply gently, as to not anger the blade with outright refusal: "I still have much to do, even though the world may not want me or need me, I still have to finish my business - and I have to gain you enough power so that you may return my soul to me one day." She smiled at this last thought, her childlike imagination making her feel as if once she regained her soul that all would be set right and that she would never have a worry again, all would accept her and forgive her for what she had done, along with even praising what the young wielder for the sacrifices she made and the deeds that she was forced to do in order to arrive thus far. Of course, these were purely imaginary scenarios and the most likely outcome is that she would remain an outcast no matter the outcome but, it was at least a comforting thought for the naive Wielder.

Slowly, she turned away from the pool within the cave and began walking outside and back toward the Black Forest, a place which she nearly called home as it reminded her from the realm which the blade had shown her on numerous occasions and seemed to be the only place she could find peace in quiet, respite from the outside world. She intended fully to return there for another few nights and simply rest for a while, thinking of ways to use her newfound abilities. 

[Claiming Water Release]