Vultures & Sharks

Altar sat relatively alone at the shore of one of the great seas that surrounded his home. He had passed his idle time by tossing stones into the water, watching them fly forward and skip off the surface a couple times before impacting and slowly sinking down to the sand below. Picking up another stone, Altar would reel back his arm, before throwing it forward and flicking his wrist. The stone skipped, then sank almost immediately. Altar would shake his head in disappointment at the bad throw, then roll his arm back and grab another stone.

This cycle would continue on for a few minutes, seeing as Altar really had nothing to do and nowhere to be at this point in time.

Altar could hear the girl coming from a mile away. Not that she was particularly noisy, but one's ears get used to the droning of passing crowds and the lapping of waves close by. So feet making their way towards him in the sand was something easily picked up by the Jounin's expert ears. His first instinct was to feel this person out. A chakra level he was familiar with indicated a rank below his, but well above that of an academy student. So either a Genin or Chuunin. That put him at ease. But what had him at odds was the signature. One he didn't recognize, not even vaguely.

The girl strolled up behind him, inquiring as to why he seemed so downtrodden, before plopping herself down next to him, telling him she enjoyed the sight of the sea, but still didn't see the whole attraction. Altar would give a smile and look to the girl beside him.

"Well, there's no particular reason. But what reason do I have to be anywhere else? No missions to be done, no excess training needed, no other task at hand. So, I figured why not come sit by the sparkling abyss and contemplate life as we know it?" Altar would laugh slightly at the loaded reply. "What reason do you have to sit by me and ask why i'm alone?" Altar would say, looking to the girl and smiling and quizzically raising an eyebrow.

After a few seconds, realization would cross Altar's mind, and his face would drop a bit. "Oh, almost forgot. My name's Altar. Altar Shinkou. May I ask yours?"

The Jounin remained unphased by her approach, he was standardly nonchalant about her coming over. I suppose that is what one should expect from a high ranking shinobi like him, they are always alert and attentive to their surroundings. In response to her inquiry the man lamented that he had nothing to do, which was truly a sorry tale. There is nothing more saddening then being unable to find something to better oneself, but she thought that no matter what, if you tried hard enough you can always find a way to move forward. He gave a short laugh and a smile before asking her for a reason as to why she came to sit by him, she was warmed slightly by his smile, he didn't seem to have an air of danger to him at least not for her. His question was shortly followed by another question and a name, oddly enough. He divulged his name was Altar Shinkou, a relatively well known ninja from the mist. She tilted her head slightly and gave a soft chuckle.
   "It's very nice to meet you Altar, my name is Champagne." She replied with a smile, "and as for my reason for sitting next to you..." Her glance escaped him for a moment staring back to the see. "It's just I can't stand seeing people looking so melancholy and alone. I guess I'm just silly like that..." She explained, turning her head back to him and placing her knees to her chest.
   "So what's this about you not having anything to do...?" She questioned. "I mean you're a shinobi, there's no such thing as nothing." Champagne claimed boldly and went on to proclaim "At least that's what my master taught me. No matter what we do in life, we must always seek improvement." 

Altar would smile softly at the girl beside him, before looking back out to the vast expanse of water, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Silly indeed. You should know by now, Kirigakure is a dangerous place. So, be careful. Being silly can get you killed here. Here in the mist, you're not dipping your toes in the water. You're swimming with sharks." Altar would say, opening his eyes slowly. As he did this, he would let power course through his veins, a veil of crimson covering him. It would give off a cold aura of lethality, and would most likely put the girl on edge. He would keep this up for a few seconds, before letting it drop.

Then, he would laugh and smile again. "I seek improvement, as everyone does. But to tirelessly chase perfection when you can instead chase life...after perfection what is there? Where is the meaning in life once you've reached the peak? After that, there's only the climb down ahead of you." The boy would say, a smirk glued to his face.