Lost (Vaneda)

Walking had been a major part of most of Akihana's stay in Kumogakure thus far. But unlike her wandering in the desert in search of a cure that would never be found, this time she had a more tangible purpose.

This time she wasn't looking for someone she should have let go a lifetime ago.

The dragon ravine had been full of mystical creatures once upon  time, a place Misaki ruled with pride and joy as the mighty creatures bowed to her will. If Akihana closed her golden eyes, she could still picture the Disciplinary Squad on top of the Sandaime Raikage's golden dragon, flying through the air. She could almost feel the wind in her hair, a bubble of laughter on her lips, the warmth of being surrounded by family all around her.

Almost.

No dragons lived in the ravine now, no patches of grass and hillocks, no gurgling streams for water. Everything lay thick under a year of muck and grime, only sludge and waste bubbling up from any remaining water source. The trees were all charred, as though burned in the same dragon flame they once were so proud of. The are had been left nothing but a wasteland under Kumo's new rule.

And still, the blonde was here. She needed to see with her own eyes the crimes commuted against her home, against her family. She needed to experience every isolation, every bit of violence her home had suffered. From negligence to outright destruction to unintentional harm, Akihana wanted, needed, to see it all.

She needed to see it to forgive it.

In a sturdy pair of tan boots, the kunoichi navigated the area as best she could, her softly glowing golden hair and hair the only source of light in this dark ravine. If there was a chance that there was life out here, she would find it. If there was none, then the dead deserved to be mourned. Making her way through the thicket of dead trees, the young woman headed for the water source she could hear nearby. A few feet in the right direction and she could smell it too, the overpowering stench of human and animal waste. Extending her hand out in front of her from habit than any actual need, Akihana formed the golden glowing orb a foot ahead of her to light the way.

The small orb of light did more than guide the way though, it gave her hope that even in complete darkness, a ray of light could live on.

It didn't take long to find who he was looking for. Leaving his ANBU gear and weapons at home, the Jashin priest was one of the few out on one of these Kumo nights. Akihana didn't exactly attempt to hide her presence, using a ball of light to see through the darkness that clouded the dragon ravine. Of course, this illuminated her too, making her all too easy to find. He scouted the blonde a few meters back a little while longer before increasing his pace to close the distance. The priest shut all memories of his mission out for now. All he wanted to do now was get to know the lady in person. Information packets are rarely a good substitute for the real thing.

As he got closer, his face became more visible, the various stitch-marks almost reflecting the light cast upon him. His blue eyes creeped out next, followed by the rest of him.

"Hey there." Vaneda would call at the lady's back. If she'd turn to see him, Akihana would see an 18 year old guy with medium length white hair covered in a black cloak, a hand waving casually in her direction. Although no one else appeared to be out and the only light came from the moon and the orb the lady manipulated, Vaneda walked as if it were a day at the beach, no care in the world.

"A bit late for a stroll, wouldn't you say?" It was strange that she had chosen here to go for a walk... This place had been dead for a long time with not a dragon to it's name. He wondered what she possibly hoped to find here, in this ravine of the dead.

"If I may ask, What are you doing here, of all places?"

Blonde head turned at the sound, the golden orb moving to the other side of her head to afford a better view of who had suddenly greeted her. The golden light through into sharp relief a white face and a friendly smile. "Oh good evening," the kunoichi greeted, halting her step to give the newcomer a chance to catch up to her.

The medic didn't reply to his question of being out too late, not wanting to point out that he too was out at the exact same hour. Akihana didn't remember seeing the young man in the village but she was sure there were more people in Kumogalure than she could possibly recognize by face alone. Instead, the kunoichi did what she always did, she gave the young ninja a welcoming smile.

"It's very nice to meet you, I'm Akihana," she introduced herself, doing the polite thing. "And I hope I'm not in anyone's way," she added, a flash of concern tinging her golden gaze. When asked what she was doing here, the young woman paused, wondering how to phrase the answer.

"Looking for a sign of life, i suppose," she answered honestly. She hadn't arrived here with high expectations of discovering dragons. A bug, a hare, a bat, anything would do. "I suppose what I really came looking for was a sign that there was life out here, no matter how minor, how seemingly insignificant..." She didn't add that she would feel a kinship with anything that managed to survive out here. Reasoning that if it could live out here, she could certain live in the village.

"What about you? What brings you to this corner of the village? I can't imagine this place gets frequented by the locals a lot."

She smiled at Vaneda politely, welcomingly, introducing herself as Akihana. She was pleasant to talk to, at least, maintaining her composure in, what was surely, an unnerving environment. The blonde stated she hoped she wasn't in anyone's way and, to that, the priest smiled in return.

"No, you're not. In fact, I was going to ask if I was." It seemed she knew all the polite mannerisms from composure to comments. Her eyes seemed to be tinted a certain shade of yellow (or was it gold), emphasized by the light she kept. In any case, it would be rude not to introduce himself in response. In addition to his job and his personal code demanding a friend to be made, the seemingly gentle nature in which she spoke intrigued the Jashin priest.

"My name is Vaneda, the Cursed One. Please call me Vaneda or something shorter. Makes it easier on the tongue, believe me." He'd chuckle a bit at his own little joke, finding it mildly funny. The blonde explained that she was here to simply find something alive, something moving, no matter how small it was. How ironic. She was looking for life in a pocket of death, but, in a strange way, her quest as admirable. Despite being a priest to the god of violent death, things have to be alive to... well... die. In a place like this, it would certainly pay for it to have more green, more light, because darkness is completely incapable of extinguishing itself.

"Yeah." He commented. having listened to Akihana's explanation. "There should be more here, life I mean. The barren walls and floors of these places feels... unnatural." What he stated wasn't a lie at all, but nor was it the truth. "As for me, get ready to call me a hypocrite!" Vaneda announced, shrugging his shoulders and smiling sheepishly. "I was on my own little walk. I usually pass through here when I have time. And, lucky me, I have time!" He chuckled again, making himself at ease.

"If you don't mind, may I walk with you?"

As he introduced himself, a small frown touched her features, making her golden eyebrows rise in inquiry. The Cursed One? That was certainly an odd name for someone, especially since Akihana firmly believed that every single person in this world was a blessing. Raising her golden orb to look at him more closely, she noticed he wasn't much older than Arashi despite the stitches lining his pale skin. "Vaneda it is," she smiled in return to his jest. "Though if you don't mind terribly, I would call you The Blessed One in my head," she added with a polite laugh of her own. Perhaps if he knew that at least one person thought of him as a blessing, he too would begin to believe it too.

As he confirmed that yes, there should be life here, Akihana's golden eyes opened wide, the hope in them obvious even from a distance. "When I was her last... this place was a sanctuary for dragons. From the oldest shedding their wings to newly hatched trying to jump of rocks in an attempt to fly with wings that couldn't support their bodies yet. My friends and I.. we shared some good moments here. I don't think all life would have abandoned it in quite such a short time."

When asked if he may walk with her, Akihana gave the young ninja another smile. "Of course," she ushered, the golden orb moving tot he other side of her as she motioned for Vaneda to join her. "I could use some help, I'm afraid I don't even know where I'm supposed to be headed. but my best guess was to try a water source since that's where animals congregate."

"The Blessed One?" The Jashin Priest asked, cocking his head to the side in thought. Strange... Never once did he consider calling himself that... Those who he'd slain had always called him the "Cursed One" and as a result, he adopted the name. Now, with the Blessed one being attributed to him... Well... It fit. He was one of the blessed few, those who Jashin had placed his holy gaze upon. he had survived many more brutal and deadly encounters where several other similar brethren of his had met their end and, not to mention, the status he had attained doing his job. When he had some free time, Vaneda would have to seriously consider whether or not to reintroduce himself as such. In the meantime, however, he simply smiled and shook his head.

"Whatever makes you happy, pal." As Vaneda continued, talking about how there should be more life around here, the blonde's face seemed to light up with hope. She appeared to be that desperate to find some semblance of existence here... She went on to explain that she and a few of her friends had some good memories here and that she found it difficult to believe the area around them was a barren and dead as it appeared. Well... that explained her motivation and, apparently, Dragon Ravine had a reason for being called that... The more Akihana went on, the more Vaneda became intrigued with her. From the way she described this place, not only were there giant, fire breathing lizards here once, but it was implied that she tended to them herself. The sheer endurance and patience one must have to keep such creatures of legend was almost... well... Jashin.

"Dragons, huh? Wow. That's... impressive... I knew the Ravine had some reason for being called what it was but... wow." He commented. His request to join her was met with immediate approval, to his surprise. Aki simply brushed the ball of light to her side, making room for the priest to walk up beside her. Vaneda took her invitation and moved up just as she confessd how she knew not where to even begin looking for this representation of Kumo's natural life. Her first guess was to look for some water source, as that's where animals tend to go. The logic was sound, but the priest knew not where to even start looking, besides deeper into the pit.

"Makes sense." he smiled, crossing his arms. "You know where one is? A lake or stream? We could start there."

"There used to be one over there," the Kunoichi pointed out in the darkness as they made their way forwards, Akihana inconspicuously guiding the way not simply because of the golden orb but also because of her perfect vision despite the encroaching darkness. Never one to let anyone feel that though, the blonde simply fell into step beside Vaneda. "Though judging by the smell I would say the stream turned into sewage," she added, a note of sadness in her voice. The filth and destruction would never deter her though.

"If I may ask, how long have you been in Kumo?" she inquired politely, trying and failing to place iether his distinct facial features or his name. "I only ask because I used to live here... a long time ago, and I can't seem to recall you. If we've met before, I'm terribly sorry. Old age must be getting to me." At this, the young woman tried for a smile, one older than her years. It was sometimes difficult for her to believe that she was going to be twenty four soon. Most days the medic felt she had lived at least thrice that long.

"There we are," Akihana motioned as they neared the sound of gurgling sludge and the smell became overpowering. Anyone else would have covered their nose and reached for a mask but the kunoichi simply stood where she was, her boots coated in slime and residue seeping into the ground beside the stream that once used to provide fresh drinking water for the dragons of the ravine. "There must be something here, something evolved to suit the new biome, we jsut have to find it."

As they moved deeper into the innards of Dragon's Ravine, a pungent smell radiated through the area like rotting corpses. Aki commented dryly that it was possible that the smell might come from the water-source itself as it had been turned to sewage. It was a sickeningly sweet and sour smell, one that would naturally make Vaneda's stomach turn and his mouth salivate in disgust. It was the smell of either fresh decay or third stage black decay, but whatever it was, the smell it produced was something heinous. The blonde's voice seemed to have a touch of sorrow mixed in as she spoke. It was clear she was expecting something untouched, something still clean in the face of complete decay. Surely, the blonde knew how... thorough their raikage could be. If everything here wasn't dead, it was tainted. Taint and corruption were not the same however... A moment into his thoughts and Aki had asked him another question. How long had he been in Kumo? About 2... 3 years now? It was hard to remember. He hardly remembered such things.

"A while." Vaneda responded cryptically, frowning a bit. "Not as long as you, I'm sure. See, I'm not really from here, the village. Came here.... 3 years ago...? My god requested I did." He waited for the look to role over him. Everyone knows the look, the one that was full of "I cant believe its" or "WHATS". The kind that basically spoke how their opinions are changing. "I'm a priest, of a sort. Go from place to place, praying, holy rituals, etcetera, etcetera. And, before you even ask, no. My order doesn't shave our priests bald. So many people have asked me that." The last part was obviously a joke, as evidenced by the raised eyebrow and slight smirk he gave her.

It wasn't long after he spoke until they came across the body of water to which the blonde was referring. Jashin, at this distance, it could fizzle off one's eyebrows, earhair, and probably the rest of their bodily hair if they leaned their faces down in it. For a moment, the blonde was silent, simply taking in the murk, the vile, the slime, processing the taint. There was plenty of taint. And then, there came the denial. She said that something had to be alive here, that they just needed to find it. The priest looked at Aki, a look of disgust and confusion on his face. How anything could live in that was beyond him, but whatever. She wanted to find something alive, it couldn't hurt to look. Using the light from the orb, he began scanning the walls for any reptilians that use this murk as drinking water or something. Akihana seemed almost desperate to find something among a pile of nothing, but it was something he could respect. Hardly anyone comes to a place like this to pack up at the first sign of an obstacle.

When Vaneda explained that he was here but the will of his God, Akihana nodded understandingly. She almost felt homesick at his familiar answer, homesick for Hoshi though she tried to convince herself that this was home now. Ever since she had agreed to Youka's proposition, the kunoichi had had little choice than to try to look for a bright light, at least until the skies cleared and a morning star shone down on the village. In Haven, the most common answer was God's will, or the will of multiple Gods depending on the faith of the person being asked.

"I can understand that, I returned to Kumo for a somewhat similar reason." Her reason hand't been the Goddess Etro, She never gave directions like her new friend's deity seemed to. But Akihana knew She was a the center of it all and that was enough. At his joke about being an unshaven priest, the kunoichi's golden eyes reflected amusement. "I can live with that. One of my friends is a priest, albeit the shaven and shorn variety," she admitted with a laugh of her own. The medic wondered what Lucian Nazar was up to these days. She wondered what he would have thought of her decision to try and free the people of Kumogakure.

As they neared the source of filth, Akihana's eyes scanning perfectly through the dark, she kept her ears open for the scritch scratch of rats, worm and other species that usually made filth their home. Roaches survived anything, as did water based vermin and bacteria. Just the fact that there was the smell of rotting flesh meant there was a rotting corpse somewhere something could feed on. And a few more feet into the disgusting sludge, she found it.

"I'm afraid this will get a little uncomfortable, please feel free to look away if your're queasy," she warned before crouching down to the slimy sodden ground, the orb of light hovering close to the surface of the muck. Over the filth, all was quiet and smooth but thanks to her bloodline limit, Akihana could see through solid mass, and about half a meter into the waste, she saw the movement.

Reaching a thick gloves hand downwards into the sewerage, Akihana used her strength to break the surface, her vision guiding her. not the strongest shinobi, she was however strong enough to break the minimal spongy, muddy surface required to pull out... a wriggling black mass.

As the orb moved closer, a pair of vicious red eyes glared at the kunoichi as the rat they belonged to let out an angry sound at being disturbed from its moist home.

"Thank heavens," she exclaimed, letting the rat go and looking up at Vaneda should he still be looking her way. "I knew there had to be life here. This place isn't dead, it could never be dead." the joy was clear in her eyes as she rose to her feet once more, a small smile on her pale, heart shaped face. "Life can always be nurtered back," she explained as she turned towards him once more. "Death, that's a little harder tor reverse but life, life is simple enough. A little bit of love and nurturing and this Ravine will once again bustle with life. I can't say if the dragons will ever return but it will certainly make for a good picnic spot."

Vaneda was surprised to find that the reason Akihana was back here at all was because of the influence of HER god. Of course, whatever she believed in wasn't real, but the similarities between them continued to pile high. Hell, she even had a priest-friend, though he was one of those wierd shaven-head kind. As Vaneda scanned the walls, the blonde moved deeper and deeper into the sludge, eventually taking the light away from him as she poked around. Vaneda turned his gaze in the direction of the light, seeing what Akihana had warned him about. The nasty stuff was that she was about to poke around in the innards of a bloated corpse floating atop sewage in an apparently festering area of the Ravine. Needless to say, the priest was disgusted to some degree, but also somewhat curious in a way a child might be when examining the body of a dissected frog. Instead of backing away, Vaneda inched closer, getting a better view as she dug around almost a foot and a half into a solid mass of decay. With almost half of her arm in that disgusting wall, Vaneda covered his mouth and nose with his hand, desperate to avoid any newer, fresher smells that would seep from that vile a place.

"Uncomfortable is a bit of an understatement..." Vaneda noted dryly as his blonde buddy withdrew her arm from the disgusting slime. Something wriggled in her palm, though, something alive. The priest moved in just close enough to make out the form of an exceptionally large rat with red glowing eyes, a feature that surely would make someone's day a bad one if one saw a rat like this in their pantry. Despite the INCREDIBLY vile thing Aki had to do to find the crazy mammal, she seemed relieved to have found it. She let the beast scuttle back into the filth, stating that she KNEW that this place couldn't have been completely dead. She stated that life could always be nurtured back and, maybe soon, this place could be a picnic spot. To that, the Jashin shook his head and laughed, taking his hand away from his mouth.

"A picnic spot?" He asked, a smile wide on his face. "Next thing ya know, there'll be flowers and grass all along the ground here where this sludge once was with a smiling sun hovering above it all!" It was clear as he said this he didn't have a hint of sarcasm in his voice. If anything it was more of an enthusiastic, hyperbolic behavior. However, as he went on his rant, the smell of the place hit him again, harder this time. In fact, it almost made him recoil so completely intolerable was the scent. "But that SMELL though... If we want to make this place family friendly, were going to need a lot of incense burning or something..."