Confronting the Apex Predator [P]

This had been a terrible decision. Ranking within the top three of worst ideas she had ever had. The heat of the desert was unbearable, and the farmland accustomed girl felt like her brain might melt out of her ears were it not for a cave she had found jabbed into the side of a sandy plateau. What had originally been a standpoint for her to try and catch her barring felt more like a hot plate after standing atop it for so long. Thankfully, a hole in the roof leads to a small series of tunnels, most of which ended in dead ends, but one of which when outside after the entrance had been cleared. More than likely, someone had used this as a retreat a long time ago, but there was no sign of it ever being inhabited. It was possible that these tunnels were cut over a long period of time in the sparse rain the desert got. In her books, Ida had read that rain in the desert sits heavy upon the sands, and can even bore holes. Still, the mapping of the tunnels seemed a little too convenient for it not to have some kind of human influence. Thankfully, it gave the traveler time out of the sun to consider their situation.

Up until then, she had been traveling with a makeshift pack that didn't carry much but food. A crude knife fashioned from grinding two rocks together and applying amatuer sharpening techniques made for something to gather kindling. It also cut fiber from trees and meat if need be, though was far from what one might call a masterwork tool. Her cloak and mash shielded her face and upper body from the sun, though the leathers had become stifling. Still, taking them off was just asking for trouble. Now able to set the pack down, she would gaze across the land from the cave entrance, finding anything that could possibly make a discernable landmark. Something that wouldn't be covered by sand in a storm. She had already learned her lesson on sandstorms after having to unbury herself from a mound of sand. This meant she could rove back to the borderlands and procure kindling for a flame at night that wouldn't be seen and even take time to prepare meals. This place was not worth fortification, however. This would certainly not make due for a permanent residence, as if she was right, and it was the rain, the tunnels would flood if she didn't make a hatch for the roof, and she didn't trust her carpentry skills that much. Besides, even in the shade of the tunnels, the air was so hot that just being alive made her whole body sweat. "People aren't supposed to live here." She murmured to nobody.

Interrupting these thoughts was a sudden and dramatic writhing from the tendrils that curled beneath the skin of Ida. Typically, Ida had come to rely on these accursed tendrils to find prey to stalk in the brush, useful for hunting out creatures that blended well with the environment by hungrily listening for that quickened pace of a scared, beating heart. So when Ida felt the sensations that matched that exact definition, she knew that, whatever the tendrils felt approaching, was on the predator side of the spectrum, and in a confrontation, there is always a prey. In this case, she was the prey, and whatever was coming over those dunes was the predator. Still, this fear was not something she hadn't felt before, necessarily. She had avoided plenty of beasts much larger than her in order to survive in the wilds. Instinct turned into reflex as Ida had to make a quick decision. Hiding in the cave would conceal her better, but whatever this is might be here for the cave. If she was found, she would be trapped, and certainly killed and eaten. If she hid outside, there was a greater chance of being found, and if she was found, it would mean running. And if whatever this was, was faster than her? There were no trees to run up and hide in unless she was fine looking more like a piece of swiss cheese than a person. 

A realization caught her attention as her head spun to look back into the cave, eyes pushing through the darkness to the very end of the cave where her pack set against a wall. Before the room was a split of two tunnels, and the hole opening to lead to the plateau above through a crevice. Animations played in her mind of how her plan could work. A dark shadow of a beast crossing the corridor to the room on the end, sniffing about at her sack of food. Whilst it was distracted, she could slip from one of the side tunnels and work her way through the door. Or, if she was found, up through the hole and crevice to the top of the rock. From there, she would have to figure things out as her mind decided this was the best course of action. She would lose her pack and her food, but her cloak, leathers, and knife were all on her person. She could rebuild, even if she lost it all, so long as she kept her life. 

Slipping quickly and quietly down the tunnel, she would slide into a side path, taking careful precaution to press themselves up against the concave walls of the tunnel. She had done her best to make herself smell like the wilds, and hoped that it was enough to throw off a powerful nose. She steadied her breathing, making it as minimal, and as slow as she could, body freezing against the wall. Even her mind blanked, allowing herself to believe she was becoming one with the surroundings. And the walls didn't think. Now all she could do was hope that whatever it was, was enticed by the smell of exotic fruits more so than that of a dirty, sweaty human.

WC - 1,006

The months that had past changed a great many things for the youthful girl, most of them hard learned. Had you told her that she would ever regard the curse of writhing flesh that inhabited her body as a friend, she might scold you for teasing. And yet here she was, quietly thankful that the tendrils had once again performed an act in service to them both. Momo had become quite useful as a proxy alarm; a jittering excitement when it was something to eat, or a trembling quiver when it was something bigger and stronger. This time, however, was something curious. The three persons running into the cave certainly didn't seem all that dangerous. They had rushed straight down the hall, not paying any mind to look down either tunnel. If they had superior senses, they would have spotted her right away, but they hadn't even bothered. Still, they could simply be doing a quick search. But then wouldn't they check the halls closer to the door first in case anyone was ready to escape? Her questions were dispelled when she would hear the voices bounce down the corridor in a wave of trembling, exhausted voices. Lament. Then came a string of names she had never heard before. Kumo. Lord Mortarion. Maku. Should she know these people? Where they the local lords of the land? Of all these questions, the only certainty was that these people were scared out of their mind. Or at least a couple of them were. One might have had a bit of strength, but when that chuckle echoed down the corridor, whatever was left of it was gone. 

Hairs on the back of Ida's neck stood up, an ice sheet laid over her body starting at her head and running down the length of her spine. This is what Momo had warned her about. When one sees a beast- a monster- one might expect a hunched visage, hulking in muscle, a maw filled with the bones of man. A great maw that opened to spew forth the beasts from the underworld. Ida was quiet, but she felt her eyes scream as the humanoid figure passed in front of the light of the cave, casting a chilling silhouette down the length of the hall from the light pouring in the hole in the roof. Her breath caught in her through even after the figure passed her view. Whoever this person was, it admitted to having followed them for some time. Mentioned more names, but nothing Ida had ever read about in the very limited school library. Then, it admitted to doing something even worse. It was no wonder these people were running so fiercely from it. Feeling that it had settled into a small monologue for the now captured shinobi, Ida felt the feeling return to her legs as she silently peeled herself from the wall and moved along to the edge of the intersection of the tunnel.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she would peak around the edge until only a single eye caught the barest of glimpse of the situation down the hall. Nothing more than she absolutely had to. The final line of the grand realization was uttered, and Ida could feel her heart in her throat. Somehow, she could smell fire, and smoke. The distant, echoey sound of screaming the started as a dull buzz, growing louder as the silent moments of approach from the monster lapsed, turning into a shrill screech to match that of the savaged shinobi, who wore torn and rent in the hall at the end of the tunnel. Still, Ida didn't look away. As horrifying as the sight was, someone had to see. Someone had to witness the final, desperate moments of a people that had faced judgment and came up on the wrong end. A sickeningly wrong end. Still, there was little use in waiting for the blood to stop pumping, for surely a monster such as this has no need for the meager supplies those shinobi might have had. A soured thought in her mind that such a genius trap might have caught her a nice upgrade to equipment, but she was still alive. And she intended to keep it that way.

Turning, Ida would push from the wall to silently plot down the tunnel to the main entrance, any noise her steps might have made muffled by the groans and screams of the dying, the tearing of flesh and the snapping of bones. One final gift to a stranger. Once outside, Ida would push herself up to the nearest mound to double check what side of the rock was which, before her gaze turned in either direction. One way was back to the forest she had been prowling for months and the cold shade. But the opposite direction was the city of Sunagakure. The city she had decided to get a new beginning in. One where she could keep her identity to herself, and if the stories were true, make a living and then some if she worked hard. What was she going to do once she got there exactly? That was a problem for Future Ida. Without wasting any more time, the youth would begin to head in the direction she believes Sunagakure to be.

WC - 882

TWC - 1,888

The taste of freedom had been so sweet, teasing gently on the tip of her tongue through the mask. Still, that cold voice came through the darkness of the tunnel, wrapping itself around her ears despite any other noise that might have been coming. It was a miracle, truly, that she had been here. At least for the moment. Content to let the third of the trapped shinobi go unconscious in a sad display of fear. Even as Ida paused in her steps, she told herself that she was certainly not going to be like these sad fools. She probably had less to lose, but after running for so long, the fear had become a part of them. Ingrained in them like a curse, like black blood. And Ida knew that if she did not heed the words of the beast, it would not hesitate to make good on them. So instead, gathering together what she could, she put on a brave face and turned to meet the gaze of the man as he glanced over his shoulder, showing him that she did not intend to try and contest his claim just yet. Face covered by a bark mask, shaven to the whites, dyed by the rain and weather, then tanned by the heat. The mask had seen many days, etched over it a crude etching of a pair of eyes peeking out from beyond some roughly sketched trees. Her cloak wrapped over her head and shoulders broken up her human horizon, allowing her to blend well into night and shadow. But not well enough.

Golden eyes peered from beyond the mask, doing their best to hold back a defiant stare. He was right. He could kill her easily. But her mind couldn't detect whether this was just a sick game, or if this stranger actually had an interest in talking. Her feelings wavered as a sickening cloud filtered into the already shadowed darkness, giving it an inky, life-like look. As if something in the desert had crept in around them, threatening to consume anything that came close. The pillars of light that pierced the dark took the form of trees as Ida was dragged quickly into memory. Red eyes peeking from the darkness of the trees, blood running down her arm from a gash she had suffered, a crude knife gripped tightly in one hand. Rain dampened her hair as she faced the snarling, growling beast. Ever closer did it creep until she had little choice but to lash with that knife. She had to strike then, and it saved her then. But now, this beast approached, and it did not snarl nor bark nor bare it's fang, instead smiling a white smile. Momo lashed fiercely in panic, rippling across flashes of skin in a hurry. Still, golden eyes remained defiant in spite of herself. Her head leaned back slightly as the man approached nearing head and shoulders over her. Then it asked it's questioned, beckoning to her knowledge of who she was. But what could she say? Ida from Nowhere? Stranger from Outta-Town? What sort of answer was he looking for? Perhaps he wanted to know if she was also one of those guys behind him.

There was little need to be nervous in that regard. Still, the silence between them was beginning to grow as Ida struggled to find words she used so scarcely anymore. "Ida." She finally choked out, muffled behind the wooden mask, but still easily loud enough to hear in the cave. "My name is Ida." She replied. The next part of the question was just as difficult to answer. Sunagakure had been the destination, but that wasn't his question. The question was why. Why. And that was an even harder question than where. For a moment her face turned down slightly as she thought carefully how to word her answers. This thing, whatever it was, had the patience for the moment, and with any luck, she would be unimpressive enough to forget about. "My life ended not long ago." She started. It was the most honest way to give context to the more relevant part of the answer. "So I have come to find myself. W-Where ever that might be." He voice faltered. Her fear had plateaued, reaching an uncomfortable level that can be compared to somewhere between being scolded by one's parents unjustly, and being told you are being sent to prison for the rest of your miserable life. Momo, on the other hand, was not having this shit any longer.

Typically, there was a system in place to keep things in check. Momo would wait until there was exposure of skin to burst forth, allowing Ida to save herself some stitch fiber to put the holes back together. At this point, however, Momo didn't seem to care about deals. A ripping sound could be heard briefly as the tendril would push forward, though not much before Ida's own hand snatched it from the air, pulling the length back with a silent hiss of "Shit." For a brief moment, Ida held still, braced for some manner of retaliation, though if one did not come, she would unclench herself and puff a breath out in a shallow "Sorry." Correcting herself, she would have an awkward feeling of the display. Certainly, this thing had seen manage strange, horrific things, but that didn't stop her gaze from failing to meet it's once the tendril slithered back into her body from the newly made hole in her cloak, having shot from her shoulder. She had no words to offer as an explanation because she had none to give. A sinking feeling was beginning to form in her stomach. Even if the beast was unphased, this had been the opposite of unremarkable. A perfect score lost over a panic move. Shameful.

WC - 974
TWC - 2,862

Ida remained tense for a long minute, waiting for some manner of repercussion for the actions taken by Momo. A certainty in her mind that the actions of the cruse laiden body had finally lead to her demise. Still, she did not curse Momo, instead softly repeating the word that had caught her intention. "Tau." The blurp had been mostly for herself, but that would not dissuade the keen sense of the monster from hearing it as well. Her mind flashed back to when she had heard it last, the smell of hey filling her nostrils as she walked the field alongside her father, Shun, and another man she had never met before with a balding top and hair growing from his nose and ears. "It's called Tau," Ida recalled, having not been paying much attention to whatever it was the adults had been talking about, eyes fixed on the large animals that grazed in the field. Still, for just that brief moment, she remembers the name being spoken once more. Her mind focused once more on the predicament she had found herself, standing steadily with her hand nowhere near the makeshift blade she had. Not that it would have made much difference, but manners after all.

Eyes shifted back to the beast finally as he continued to speak, talking of knowing the plight she faced. Her heart skipped a beat, and for the moment, Ida wasn't sure what she should be looking at. Once she could discern the scars across the sickly skin, her eyes would focus on the many, many railways laid over it's back like an intricate map of the nations. An urge from deep inside of her gave her the impulse to reach out and touch at the scars to see if they were real. But her hand would remain where it was, glued to the side of her body like a carefully packed luggage due to be vacuum sealed. "Earth...Grudge...Fear." She said, the shake from her voice gone, echoing behind the mask and replaced by a resolve that said the thought of escape was certainly not on the menu anymore. She felt a tremble in her knees that she worked to stifle as he explained the nature of her curse she carried with her. A hand was lifted, sleeve rolled down to produce a path of skin that writhed with black tendrils. Her gaze then replaced itself back to the beast, shining with something new. A gleam in the light across the eye slits spoke of moistening of her eyes, her mind exploding with an internal cheer. A scream of delight as the urge to throw herself down onto her knees, throw her hands up and scream "I'm not a freak!" was incredible, but resisted all the same. Instead, she made a silent sound that could be considered a whimper, though it was brief, and replaced by a clearing of the throat, resolve replaced back in check.

Her mind cleared when he spoke again. This time it was something she had not respected. At worst, she had expected death. At best, it might give her a pat on the head and let her run along her way, perhaps even being generous enough to allow her to get her pack back and maybe a real knife if the shinobi had one. But this was something different. Her thoughts lingered on the shinobi as she leaned sideways to look at the gory mess that was left behind by his work. She was no fool. Everything that was wonderful had its price. Even understanding and acceptance. She knew, deep down, that if she accepted his offer, this site would become a constant. People would die before them on the way to whatever this beast had in store. Her mind flickered back once more to the bandits that raided her village. Is this how it happened to them, too? Was this her red-haired man, finding her downtrodden, intent on utilizing what she could offer? Truthfully, the answer didn't really matter, because the refusal of something like this was almost certain death. It would show she didn't have the will to get stronger. That she was weak, and complacent in that weakness. She would deserve death to turn down such an opportunity.

"Okay." She said quietly once more against her mask. Her mind raced as she traced it's words, putting them over and over in her mind, pushing and pulling them at different angles, like a machine that tested the structure of an idea. Thrive. It was the word she was stuck on. No live, not survive, it was thriving. A word picked carefully. The realization made her heartbeat, but this time with excitement. Even Momo seemed swayed by the sensation flowing over Ida. This beast could go where it pleased, did what it pleased. It did not scrape by in life, hunting its next meal. Now it offered to take it under its wretched wing. To show her how to become like him, and to ascend to the next step in life. Hell, maybe even skip a few steps. "Yes, okay." She answered more firmly, a nod of her head to punctuate the notion. "I-I don't have many skills, just enough to stay alive. But I am a capable hunter with Momo. Able to feed myself, at least." She said, though her tone said she wasn't completely relaxed just yet. A tentative trust. This could still be a ruse. A cruel ruse. "Will I have to corner and kill people, as you do?" She asked, wondering really if this attack had any sense to it at all, or if they were just warm bodies who crossed the wrong path that day.

WC - 952
TWC - 3,814

The deed had been done. The contract had been sealed there, in the shade of the cave amidst the sandy desert. For better or worse, it would become the source of her learning, her master, as she read it from her books. It would teach, and she would listen. It was then that the beast would mention Sunagakure, and it's intention to go forth to the city. What a wonderful coincidence. Perhaps he, too, had plans to take part in the city, or if it was going to learn from a library, or seek a blessing for a journey. Most likely the latter. Either way, it would be a good opportunity to pick up a few things in the city that might be helpful for traveling. A tent, a real canteen, a real knife. A thought hit her for just a moment as she looked back into the cave once they had left. Her gaze was pulled back to the black-clad man to watch the horrific formation of the flesh puppet from it's back, a bird-like a creature with claws and a clacking beak. The sight of it made bile rise to the back of her throat, making her swallow and lift a hand to cover her mouth beneath her mask. Thankfully, she was able to keep her meager lunch down as she turned her attention to the masks, and it's explanation on something called a bloodline. A Technique? Like the same way, a farmer has a technique for planting crops? But what could this massive, horribly deformed creature do that was worth this kind of a transformation? 

Next came a veritable flood of information that had to do with her and Momo, talking about things like elements that only brought up question marks in her head. The heart part, she kind of knew. Momo liked to eat the hearts of their kills, but she never noticed gaining anything from it than sustenance. She had never experienced gaining something like a "primary element" from anything she had killed and eaten. Perhaps there was a certain beast that needed to be hunted in order to gain whatever these elements where. Perhaps when she gained her...meat...bird... she could give it a more elegant appearance. Something graceful and at least mildly pleasant to look at. As the meat bird began clacking its beak and forming a ball of energy at the end of its beak, Ida would look back down the cave, then back to the beak. Then cave, then beak again. "Wait." She asked softly, stepping forward and into the cave with a hurried step. Ida was not confident in what this ball of energy was going to do, but she was confident that if she was not quick, he would perhaps teach her the price of hesitation. Still, what she had in mind wouldn't take her long.

Making a quick pace to the end of the cave, Ida worked with the pace of a time limit. Dancing about the gore, she would pick up her pack that had what remained of her food; a measly two fruit. Still, no use in throwing away a good pack until she could get to Sunagakura and get a new one. Brushing the bits of a body off the bag, Ida would stand and turn to make her exit before noticing a wrapped bundle the size of a small human laying on the ground, a tuft of some kind of fur showing from the top. Brown, hair looking fur. Ida's curiosity got the best of her. If it wasn't worth anything, they wouldn't have carried it all the way to their tomb. Either way, it was hers now. Picking up the wrapped parcel, it was lighter than it appeared, almost like she was picking up hollow wood. As she went to make her way out, the orange ball had gotten quite big, easily capable of filling the entrance of the cave. A snag to her ankle would pull her attention, eyes spotting a hand gripped onto her ankle by the one remaining shinobi. "Please!" He cried. "Spare me!" Ida didn't even have to turn around to look back at the beast, her other foot coming up to kick at the man in the face, pushing him back with a grunt. 

"You chose this grave, stop crying." She responded. They could have been brave. They could have faced death with dignity. But instead, they chose to die a bleeding, whimpering mess. This could have been her fate. But it wasn't. "At least someone might find your body someday." She followed before making a quick exit from the cave. Of course, the cave was then filled with a fire that seared flesh from bone, the cry of the man dying to fade into smoke like the rest of his body, leaving behind a charred lump of mass as the beast continued to explain the Marked Beast. Gross. Though she could not deny it's power. Golden eyes sparkled as she watched the column of flame incinerate anything in its path. She felt her breath catch for a moment before she exhaled a long breath against the inside of her mask, looking back to it when the fire had finished it's work. It spoke more on the learning of the technique and growing in power, everything she nodded at once he concluded, falling into step behind it as it turned to take off into the desert in the same direction she had been considering earlier.

The beast would mention meeting others and having no need to fear them. Yet. Always with careful wording did she consider what it said. That might mean that these people, whoever they were, were not the most friendly sorts, but he would vouch for her, for the time being. But, he had no intention of holding her hand or protecting her. The strong didn't need protection. She would fiddle with the wrapping, getting a better idea of the tool she had acquired, unwrapping a painted face that looked like some sort of holiday monster. It almost looked sort of silly. Ida smiled quietly behind her mask as she ruffled the hair of the puppet. "I'll call you...Francis." She said quietly to herself, shifting the puppet to look this way and that, tilting her mask to follow, thankfully hiding the expression of amusement she was having over the new acquisition. Francis was slung over her shoulder, sandwiching the pack that had only a couple fruit left in it. "When we get to Sunagakure, I have a bit of coin I can use to get us some traveling equipment. Maybe a hat?" She asked, looking up to the beast. 

[Exit]

WC - 1,113
TWC - 4,927

Claims:
+24 Stats
Spending 3,900 WC on this basic bitch puppet.
Putting 1,027 WC towards Performance of a Hundred Puppets.

Approved.