Caraphernelia (P, NK)

Altar was sitting alone at a sort of town square, surrounded by a thick veil of mist. It didn't do much for sightseeing, but it at least gave privacy and an air of... mystery. Or at least something very akin to mystery. Altar couldn't really tell the time, but judging from the deathly silence and darker than normal sky...er, what he could see of the sky...he judged it to be sometime around sunset. He was alone with his thoughts here, and that was a comforting thought. He hadn't expected to sit here as long as he had, but it was nice. Nobody was around due to the time. Everyone was at home with family, eating dinner most likely, sitting down and preparing themselves for sleep. However, seeing as Altar lived alone, he didn't need to go home at any particular time. He had no one waiting there for him. He rarely slept or ate on a normal schedule anyways, so it didn't matter what time he made it there.

Trying to occupy himself as he sat alone, Altar would try to make out shapes in the mist, varying between people, then animals, then...whatever his mind could conjur up. Maybe he should talk to Nekoda, he hadn't in a while... no, that was something to do at home, when he was truly and entirely alone. Someplace he couldn't be bothered or interrupted.

Running a hand through his slightly damp hair, Altar would vouch for just laying his head back, closing his eyes, and trying to let his mind wander for a bit.

Putting on her shoes, in usual clothing Youta was preparing for an evening walk. She hasn't been here long, but was already starting to enjoy this village over Tengakure due to its different atmosphere. It was about as warm here, but there was less dirt, was not as dry, in fact it was much more humid with the mist and all. It was darker, which Youta's eyes could appreciate - maybe it was a thing of the city that Tengakure was, then again Sunagakure was quite bright too, but it was in a desert, Kirigakure was in a mist. And yet it was not so cold, not as hot as in the desert of course, but certainly not colder than in the plains. Youta had made it her exercise to take Cael for a walk in the morning and the evening. Not that Cael needed a walk, he wasn't some dog, the dragon was smarter than most people, because most people were retarded. If he needed to, he would go and do whatever. No, Youta would walk him for the company, she had raised him after all and the dragon was excellent company, he wouldn't bore and annoy her with small talk, because he usually did not talk, but if she felt like it he could muster a decent argument. And she also felt like a badass walking with a dragon through the streets and everyone declining out of their way as they did. On such walks she would only take her ninja pouch and two ninjatos with her, leaving all the heavier equipment home.

Turning around a corner the girl would sense somebody familiar, she would sense Altar's chakra in the square before them. Petting Cael, she would smile and continue forward. Although she couldn't see the boy, the dragon probably already could, or at least smell him. They would come into visual range, their silhouettes emerging through the mist, a girl and her dragon that from the front probably looks five times her size. Of course he was much bigger than that. Looking at Altar Youta would smile, she had missed the boy and this was the first time seeing him since they abandoned Tengakure. Their last meeting was on a tower, when Xyxer had given her the assignment to go to Sunagakure. Remembering that meeting the girl would speak. "How was the journey?" She would sit beside him and Cael would relax on the grass, he recognized the boy, remembering him from the several times they had seen each other. But he was someone sleepy...

Altar's eyes would snap open as he felt a large presence approaching. And besides that, he could hear the loud thumping of heavy feet on the ground. It sounded like it was going down the street. No human could make that loud a sound, though... Only knowing of one beast that could make that large a sound and still be legal on the street, Altar thought...well, it could be Haru had let loose Noctis. It could be Tenebris come to inform his of some great happening at his newly found homestead. Or it could be...hmm...Youta's dragon? But Youta didn't seem to be the one to let such a beast roam alone, no matter how disciplined it was. Even if it was wearing humanoid clothes and cracking wise, a dragon would surely cause chaos in the city. So that meant...

After a few minutes, Altar's suspicions were confirmed. Along with the heavy steps getting closer and closer still, Altar could feel a signature he knew all too well. So it was Youta, out and about with her dragon, no less. Still, seeing the girl brought a broad smile to Altar's face. He hadn't seen her since...since he had asked permissions to travel to the land of Shadow. Damn, he still needed to do that. he would need to soon. Seeing the girl approach him, Altar would move slightly, allowing her more room.

"The journey wasn't terrible. I made it fairly easy. The little 'search and rescue' task I went on afterwards with Haru was more trouble than the move here. Getting settled in here is another thing. But enough of me, how are you doing? It's been way too long, felt like an eternity." Altar would say, rambling on slightly.

Now that she stopped walking and sat down Youta would start to feel the chill caused by the mist in the evening. She would without much thought slide closer to Altar as he spoke. With the mention of her sensei he would frown a little, remember the things that Xyxer had told her. She had still to find out if that was true and settle that score, if need be. But even with all her growth, she knew she was still far from taking on the guy successfully. When asked to tell about herself the girl would tilt her head back, finding probably the only thing she did not like about this village - the lack of night sky, or sky in general. "I like this new village, feels more mysterious than Tengakure, but I miss the stars. Not as much as I missed you though." She would say, turning to him with a smile, then turning at Cael, who would let out a snort to those words, but remained with eyes closed, making it indistinguishable if it was a reaction to what she said, or just grass teasing his nose. The girl would continue "Xyxer had me do a mission for him while everyone moved and I just got back, so I don't know what much to tell you."

Altar would sigh a happy, content sigh. He knew something like that was coming, but it still made his heart beat just a bit faster hearing the girl say that. Altar would close any further gap between the two and put his arm around Youta's shoulders if the girl allowed. "I missed you too, Youta. More than I can say. And trust me, I miss the stars as well, but i'm sure there are ways to see them. Maybe one day we should take a boat out on the sea and see how the sky looks from there." Altar would say, his smile not leaving his face. However, upon the snort from the dragon, Altar would look down, unsure if it was the comment that ignited it or if the dragon just felt the need to snort out.

On hearing that Youta had been given a mission, Altar's smile would falter a bit. Were they on better terms now? "Well, tell everything you can. Not like there's something I wouldn't wanna hear."

The girl would start feeling warmer in this chilly mist. Maybe because of Altar's arm around her shoulders, or maybe because of all the blood suddenly rushing to her head after hearing his response. Or maybe she was attuning to the mist, but probably the first two combined though. She would linger a bit on his suggestion to take a boat to look at the stars, imagining it quite vividly. Youta hoped she did not blush, then again he might not even notice if she did, with the mist keeping her cheeks cool as... cold cheeks. She would not say anything about it, but silently she liked the idea. When asked about the mission though, Youta would respond with "I don't know if I should disclose the details. I'll say that it was in another country, not between the Moon country and the Islands, but further away. And that it was possibly quite dangerous, but nothing happened, everything went smoothly and I got away without a fight. Other than that, you should probably ask Xyxer." Then she would notice the change. The boy's hair was white instead of the black that it previously was. Inspecting him more closely she would ask "What happened to your hair? Did Haru have anything to do with it?"

Altar would take silent notice of Youta's cheeks glaring up ever so slightly after his suggestion. She said nothing in response, but judging from that reaction and the far off look in her eyes, she seemed to like it, even without any verbal confirmation. Hmm, he'd need to arrange that, then. Stargazing with the girl beside him under his arm sounded like the best way to spend a dreary night.

Hearing the girl's response about the mission, Altar felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, Xyxer had endangered the girl's life and could've had her recklessly killed. Not that he thought Xyxer really cared, knowing the man fairly well. On the other hand, he was proud of the girl and glad she had completed her mission and returned home safely. He'd have to remember to ask Xyxer for the full details of her mission later.

Then the girl made a comment about Altar's hair, and how the color had changed, asking if Haru had anything to do with it. Altar would think for a moment on that. He didn't think Haru had any hand in it, as he had seemed genuinely surprised to see it himself. "I...honestly don't know what happened to my hair. My greatest guess as of the moment is that it got sun bleached. Why, do you not like it?" Altar would say, looking at the girl with a slightly sad face. He thought the new white hair looked good on him.

Listening to the boy's response Youta would inspect him further, analyzing how the white hair added to his features. So when she was asked if she did not like it, the girl could not really say that she did. The change did not make Altar look any less attractive and her own hair was white, so how could she judge. Honestly, she found the question a little silly, so she chose not to give a direct answer to it. Instead she replied with "Well, now it makes you look more like my brother than my..." She'd cut it there, not exactly sure what word to use or if she wanted to use them, so an immediate change of subject was required. "...How about a spar?" Youta would stand up on her feet, making Cael open one eye to see what's happening. "Maybe you could teach me more about your fighting style, as the last time we went more with mine."

Youta seemed to skirt around the question, instead saying it made him look more alike family to her. Ah... he hadn't exactly thought of that before. He was more concerned with what she'd think of it and how it happened to think of repercussions, especially along those lines. Though, it did make them look closer in genetics. It was surprising how much a change of color changed everything else. And Altar had also noticed that she cut her sentence short, changing the subject instead of giving him a proper attachment or title towards her. Well, that was disheartening, though he could respect that. She'd need time and he had plenty of it to give.

Suggesting a spar, Altar would nod hesitantly. The last time hadn't gone the best for him, but he was in foreign waters there. Here he was fighting like normal, however he wasn't exactly sure of how well Youta knew Ninjutsu and such. She seemed to fight using her weapons and that about summed it up. Still, it was never too late to learn. Perhaps he could teach her things yet, after all. "Sure, we can spar. But i'm a heavy nin user, so...are you gonna be okay against that? I've never really seen you fight with anything other than your sword. Altar would say, rising along with the girl.

The girl would stop. Altar was right, she knew very little about the user of ninjutsu. And if he was to use high level techniques, like Jason tried in their spar, and there is no reason to assume that he won't, she would not have any response to that other than her blade. So... there must be a way to make this work. She would nod, making an expression of humble confirmation. "You're right. If I was to fight with ninjutsu alone, I wouldn't last a second against you. That is why I want to learn, it's a very potent art and I know you're skilled in it." She would look at her dragon, who has already closed his eyes already - this affair must have been boring for him. Actually Cael could produce a stronger ninjutsu attack, if you can call that ninjutsu, than she could. It only made her wonder what kind of abilities the boy had, as she never actually got to see him use any. Well, he did use one during the Chuunin Exams that they took together and if she remembered right, it was some sort of lightning release technique. "If you taught be a bit about ninjutsu before hand, that would be great. Or I could just mix in my own fighting style."