Dancing through Life

Elspeth was wandering aimlessly around the small town. Birds chirped overhead, swooping down to pick up scraps of food and trash on the ground. Evening light filtered in through the rooftops into the network of alleyways, warming the otherwise chilly and damp area. Her ringing footsteps were lost in the clatter of the morning as various merchants opened stalls and set up shop. She cracked her neck. She had slept in an awkward position and now there were little cricks running all up and down her spine.

Instead, she kicked back and relaxed, being careful to keep her eyes on the rest of the customers in the store. Once again, Elspeth was sat in a cafe. Scrolls about puppetry were surrounding her table like some kind of twisted cocoon. Most were from Suna, though a few scattered ones have come from Kumo and Konoha. There were some ones on the theory of chakra strings, which seemed easy enough- especially when compared to the horrors she had gone through trying to learn how to create lightning chakra. She twisted her fingers slowly and watched as occasionally, something resembling a chakra thread would flicker and fade into existence. It was a fascinating sight- and she knew that she would only get better with time.

Elspeth picked up a scroll after a moment and unfurled it carefully so as not to tear the old paper. Puppets are a long ranged weapon designed to be used defensively. They are rarely used due to their difficulty to maneuver and because things such as sand that get caught in the joints can severely hamper functioning ability. Most are made of materials such as wood, though there is rumor of something called human puppets- though such a thing is just rumor.

Puppets are controlled by chakra strings. In order to create them, imagine spinning out your chakra until it is rotating at a high speed, forcing it to be smaller and smaller until it reaches the desired size. Well, she was doing that already. But there was no need to get ahead of herself. Chakra threads can be created at a rate of one per finger. The stronger the puppet, the more fingers are required to control and maneuver it. Some puppets require up to seven fingers to control. Ouch. Puppets can also have mechanisms built into them, such as kunai launchers and chakra cannons. It depends on the individual. She read down, eager to learn more, but the page cut off. It looked burnt, but there were odd looking stains there, too... Probably blood. Now that was just unsanitary. She closed the scroll and opened another. Puppetry care is very important if you'd like to survive as a puppeteer. Remove grains of sand and such stuck in joins with cloths and a bit of water, but not enough to rust them. Check the mechanisms after every battle, and keep them oiled. Sand your puppets if they are made of wood, and polish if they are made of rock or metal. Keep all hinges, joints, and contraptions well greased.

That was great but she didn't have any puppets left. She closed the scroll and put it in with the finished and rejects. She scratched behind her ear and stretched, thinking after that to it was a good idea to just put away everything. Elspeth started to pack up. She shoved the water bottles she had amassed and scrolls unceremoniously into a bag. As she went outside, she noticed something. It was much quieter than usual, due to it being very early in the morning. A few merchants walked by, carrying a heavy wooden beam for making a new stall. She stretched, feeling her back crack in several places before proceeding to wander around. Eventually, she came to a decrepit stand selling candies. Screw it, she thought as she paid for three. I want some damn candy. She popped two into her mouth before sitting on a bench which creaked under her weight.

The wooden beams shifted dangerously, but she was fairly light so it wouldn't be too much of a problem. She sat like that in silence, breathing deeply to help herself relax, when someone crossed her vision. He was wearing a weird looking gi- was he a martial artist? Did he belong to a dojo of some sort? She wanted to spar, so she decided to follow him around a bit. They went through many odd passageways, but eventually came to what might have been the nicest building in the area. The walls weren't crumbling with erosion or age, the roof looked like it kept out water, the doors were thick enough to keep out a budding kleptomaniac for a while. Well, there was no hope of breaking in to follow him. Instead, she wandered about, checking out the local shops that were foreign to her.

Her gaze flitted from stall to stall. A small man was selling local spices at her right, and in front of her another was trying to market various meats. She vaguely wondered if they had business deals together giving the compatibility of their products. Reaching into her pocket, she grabbed a few coins and headed over to a stall lined with scrolls. They were leftovers, scavenged from the smoldering ruins of Tatsumakigakure no Sato. She browsed the taijutsu and puppetry sections, before pointing at a few and handing the Ryo to the shopkeeper. He nodded and she took the scrolls happily, walking off. She eyed the title of one. It read 'Leaf Whirlwind'... But she was trying to learn puppetry now. It could wait. She flexed her fingers, trying to spin her chakra into thin strings that she cloud use to manipulate puppets. Her fingers tingled as she did so.

She looked around at the rest of the populace crowding the market streets. It was loud and clamorous. Vaguely, she wondered who they were and what they were going through in their lives. After walking through the streets for a few more minutes, she came to a decrepit storefront. Not being an idiot, she ignored it and returned to her apartment.

Opening the door, she made her way to the small kitchen. Her hand grasped a cold knob and pulled open a drawer. First, she took out some spoons and focused all her chakra into her fingers. Then, she forced her chakra to start rapidly spinning clockwise. The motion forced it to thin out into narrower and narrower strings. Then, however, the strings broke under the momentum of the spin.

She kept trying again and again before she could hold it for extended periods of time. Before long, there were three metal spoons floating around ungracefully on little blue strings. Occasionally, the strings would twitch, sending the cutlery spinning counterclockwise. She tilted her head. How interesting. But eventually, she felt a sudden drain on her chakra network. She'd been going at this for a long time, and she had already pitiful reserves. Elspeth came to the conclusion that she'd rest before continuing.

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1172 words towards puppetry as main spec