She Speaks (Seiichi & Eliwood & Maybe Maku)

Seiichi was walking in the forest during the early hours of the morning. He could smell the forest, as he got further away it all seemed to come to life. Birds started to sing, they only fluttered past the cave. It was strange, when he first got to the cave life seemed to be teaming in the woods, but now he had to search for life. It could have to do with the nature of the caves. People inside them might have sparked an unnatural effect. Life running away at the only speed it could move.

Seiichi Walked for a while. The sun was up already, he was expecting to be at the village by the time that happened. His feet started to hurt it has been so long. He looked around the woods and tried to picture where he was. He had been around these woods for a long time, he knew them enough not to get lost. But there he was. Lost.

The ground even felt different. Trees weren't the normal pine he had been seeing around. These were large oaks, some shrubs were about, he hasn't seen them in the mystic woods either. There was something odd going on but he couldn't place it. Shadows danced in the shadows. The kind that was just light enough to cause a disturbance, a light within a light. Birds flew in the sky and dropped large feathers in front of him.

Seiichi stopped walking. Looking around he didn't see anything he recognized. He was so deep into the woods now that he couldn't hear the rushing of the water, the river that was near the cave. He started to wonder when he last heard the water moving. It had to be a long time. The rocks on the ground were darker than he remembered the mystics would be. Seiichi continued to look. He started to wonder if it was a genjutsu. Using the technique to release Genjutsu he attempted to free himself.

The area shimmered. He was free and took action. Running to a tree he dashed up it and stood on a branch. He didn't see an enemy in the area. Though, with a little more looking he learned that a Bear was near by. They could be extremely territorial. He should have known not to venture off alone. The beasts around here could be dangerous, especial while he was in the condition he was in.

The bear moved around. Circling him. It was huge. Large enough to claw at the tree and cause it to fall, at least that is what Seiichi thought.

"Oh come on down from there." It spoke.

Seiichi didn't answer. Did the bear just talk? He had heard about summons speaking, but how did he find himself in this predicament?

WC: 466

Eliwood wandered around the forest looking for some berries or small game to eat for breakfast. He was an early riser to say the least. The sun had yet to come up and even the wildlife was still asleep. Being up this early gave Eliwood plenty of time to take in the scenery. The forest was beautiful and green. He was having no trouble finding small quarry to eat, it was his own inability to kill them that left him hungry. He would not be beaten however!

He crept through the trees and pushed his back against a particularly mossy one. He had spotted a little blue bird, resting on the branch of a neighboring tree. He took in a deep breath and focused on his chakra control. He could feel the wind building up around him and he concentrated it all to the tip of his finger. This technique had proven no less than invaluable in Eliwood's travels. When he could land a shot, it would always do the trick.

The monk aimed his finger gun towards his prey and tried to concentrate real hard on making his shot fly straight and true. Just as he was about to release his shot, he heard a commotion not far from him. The noise made his blast go way off target and pierce the tree the bird was standing on. The resulting sound of his failed attempt would alert the bird, sending it off.

Disappointed yet now curious Eliwood decided to check out what all the noise could be. He was quite surprised to see a somewhat familiar face at the top of a tree. He was more surprised however by the bear that appeared to be conversing with the man.

He had never heard of a talking bear before and so he was more intrigued than scared. He called out to the familiar person stuck up in the tree. "Seiichi is that you? What has caused you to look so frightened?" He would then turn to the bear and speak to it. "Excuse me, I have never met a talking bear before. I am ever so delighted to meet you."

He was not standing far from the bear, and the boy's cluelessness was not doing him any favors. Should the bear turn out to be unfriendly he would find himself as a much easier to reach target than his buddy in the treetop.

(WC 403)

"Why don't I come down?" Seiichi echoed the bear. "Why do you want me to come down? Why don't you just be on your way?" He said. Seiichi had left all of his equipment back at the cave, though right now he could actually tell were he was. The river wasn't far and he could make a good guess as to what direction the cave was in. Now to just get rid of the bear He thought.

"Well, you see, this is my territory. Every creature in my territory owes me a hunger debt." The bear spoke. It was softer than you would think. The creature was large, about four feet tall on all fours. It's back was littered with black spots of hair. Its muzzle was narrow and its fur a dark brown. "So, you come on down. That way I'm not hungry any more!" The bear said and lifted its massive body to lean on the tree.

Seiichi could see that a person was approaching, but he say him too late, other wise he would have tried to save his friend from this fate. Eliwood began to speak, and before Seiichi knew it he was so close to the bear it made him cringe. The bear had stopped leaning on the tree and put all four paws back on the ground. It looked at Eliwood with a hunger.

"You have never seen a talking bear before?" It said. It's body lifted off the ground "Well, let me-" Before it could lift a paw.

"Ok. Ok." Seiichi said. "I'll come down." The bear landed back on all fours and distanced itself a little bit from the tree. Watching for Seiichi to land. Maybe watching so she could pounce. When he landed she didn't move really. Just stood there.

"You look familiar." She said, "I have seen you around the forest. You reside in that curse'id cave." The bear was looking at Seiichi.

WC: 324

Eliwood showed no fear when the bear stood up as he thought that it was just standing to greet him as well. The naive monk bowed to the much larger creature to show respect. "Thank you for having us in your land." He said hoping to show he was no enemy to the bear.

He may be overly trusting but Eliwood was no fool. He knew that a bear, a female at that, would be highly territorial and therefore wary of intruders. With people the boy may be useless but he was fascinated by animals. As a traveler he needed to learn to live side by side with the creatures of the land, but he had never seen a bear like this before.

As he did not know how an intelligent bear like this would act he shifted behind Seiichi. He seemed to have the creature's attention anyways. Why push his luck?
(WC 152)

"Cursed?" Seiichi asked. The bear didn't answer. She moved in a circular motion around them. Seiichi stepped in a way that would keep the large creature in front of him. He didn't want to show it his back, not when he was this close. The animal moves in almost robotic ways, its large bones and muscles shifting dramatically under its fur.

"Your one of them aren't you? Those death worshipers.. they have wreaked havoc on this area, killing the animals for practice. Slaying young people." It said.
"What do you care about young people?" Seiichi asked. The only young people in this area would be from Yumegakure. Seiichi had no love for them. In fact, he would enjoy watching them die.
"An invading race you humans. Scarring all of the good meat away." The beast said.
"Ahh.. your just hungry. We could help you with that, can't we?" He nudged Eliwood.

The bear paused for a moment it's large body towing over them. Seiichi was confident that he could move out of its way fast enough if it attacked, he hopped he could talk his way out of this. He wasn't lying about feeding the bear more ninja, truth would be the only thing in his eyes.

"And why would you do that?" It questioned them. It's tone was curious, as if it was leaning more toward believing them than not.

WC: 231

Eliwood hoped to follow the lead of Seiichi and win the bear over with words. It seemed to believe that they really would be willing to bring it some food. The monk was not sure what his one time drinking buddy had in mind for its food but he was not going to risk fighting with a bear more than twice his size.

"We just wish to show that we are no enemy of you ma'am." He said, still standing behind the larger man. Eliwood had hunted before but he was unsure what kind of food this creature would want.

It was too late now, he had committed to helping this animal. If she accepted their offer, hed have no choice but to lend a hand or be killed by this creature. He did not like their odds in a fight with the bear either. Seiichi looked like a capable man and Eliwood had some tricks up his sleeves, but they were clearly outmatched when it came to physical strength and size. The female bear towered over the two men and one swing of its mighty paw would be enough to send the monk to an early grave. He forced down a gulp and hoped the bear was reasonable.

(WC 209)

"Alright. So, we will be right back." Seiichi began to back up from the large creature, as he did he stayed in front of Eliwood if he let him.
"Hurry back." It said lowly

They would continue to back up till the bear was out of site. Though, Seiichi had a feeling they were being watched. "Alright, where can we find this thing some food?" He said. There were plenty of animal tracks and dropping around if he looked for them. They were far enough form the cave that animals were starting to get more abundant.

"Hm. You see this?" Seiichi looked down at the ground, squatting. "These are deer tracks." He ran his finger along them. He had lived in these woods long enough to know what the animals where and how to recognize their tracks and markings. But hunting wasn't his thing, he would simply go into town if he got hungry enough, stock up for a couple of days and head back home.

"How do you feel about climbing that tree? I can loop around and try to scar this deer towards you. It seems like this is a pretty busy trail. It shouldn't take too long?" Seiichi said as he looked up at Eliwood.

This young man seemed to be popping up everywhere for him. There was something there, a feeling that Seiichi hasn't felt in a long time, if not ever. Care and love for the man washed over him in small drops. Seiichi might even shed a tear if he died, and that was saying something these days.

WC: 264

Eliwood carefully backed away from the bear with Seiichi still standing between them. After putting some distance between the two of them and the hungry creature they noticed some deer tracks. Eliwood had never hunted one himself but he was no stranger to hunting. He hunted for most of what he ate as he had very little money, but this was usually limited to squirrels and birds. He thought about his usual method of killing, his air pistol, and wondered if it would work the same. He didnt have much time to think before he was climbing a tree to lie in wait.

Seiichi would lead the deer to him and he would have to deliver the blow. Eliwood was never fond of killing, the monks at the temple taught him that killing would cause his inner flame to run out of control. He pushed that thought from his mind and prepared for what was to come. He would be ready when the deer came, he just hoped he wouldn't miss when Seiichi showed up. He didn't want to disappoint his friend and he definitely didn't want to upset the hungry bear.

(WC 192)

As he ran he could feel the air flowing in and out of his longs like a red hot iron. It had been about two hours sense he had left his friend, a lot longer than he originally thought he’d be. The trail had gone cold on him a few times, having to loop back around and find it again was a lot of trouble, but he couldn’t let the bear down. He needed to find a deer or he was a dead man, not to mention his friend.

When he found the trail he followed it for a mile. Staying as quiet as he could, he spotted the deer in the distance. It was on top of a hill about a hundred yards away. Seiichi backed up and silently moved through the trees. The ground was littered with bits of leaves and branches, and he was no expert, some of them crunched under his feet. It so happened that deer weren’t as keen on hearing than you’d think. The creature continued to eat and enjoy its time as the lonely ninja crept backward.

Once he was sure he was out of earshot of the animal Seiichi dashed around the large hilled clearing. He moved so he wouldn’t make large noises, avoiding big branches or shrubs he would have to wade through, he made it to the other side. Once there he began to make some noise. Running and crunching everything he could see under his feet.

“Ah! Get! Get!” He yelled and waved his hands toward Eliwood. The deer perked up and saw him, heard all of the commotion and fled. It sig-zagged down the hill, ran into the wooded area again, and disappeared from Seiichi’s sight. The ninja would continue to run, following the tracks the best he could. Trying to push the deer in Eliwood’s direction. Sprinting in one direction. Seiichi created two, they ran next to him and would run on his right and left. If the deer did see him, it would think a group was chasing it. He hoped this would speed up the process.

He questioned if the bear was really going to accept their offer. He had a feeling it was expecting something like a human, but could a creature be so cruel? Seiichi knew that they would attack humans if they felt threatened. But would this bear really go out of its way to eat them for sport? This world really is dark. He thought as he ran and yelled occasionally.

WC: 420

A long while had passed from the time Eliwood and Seiichi had parted ways on their hunt. Eliwood was perched in a tree, on the lookout for the deer the two were tracking. His legs were starting to ache and he was starting to worry about his friend. He was gone for longer than he would have thought was necessary. Maybe the bear had gotten tired of waiting and went after Seiichi. Maybe she was coming for him next. Eliwood rapidly looked around for signs of the bear but found nothing. He let out a sigh of relief, when he heard noise.

Leaves crunching in twigs snapping, something was headed his way. He could hear hooting and hollering that sounded like Seiichi. He must have found the deer and was leading it to the monk. He would have to be ready on a moment's notice. He formed the chakra required on the tip of his finger and held it out in front of him. His breathing was a little erratic and he knew he needed to calm down.

He wouldnt be able to meditate on a thin branch with all the noise, so some deep breathes had to suffice. Trying to steady his breathing he could see the shape of a deer, fast approaching, Seiichi not far behind it.

He was relieved to see that his friend had not been eaten, but the two of them were not in the clear yet. They still needed to take their prey down and appease the hungry bear. Eliwood held his air pistol straight at the charging deer and focused. If they were going to drop it in one shot he would have to land his blast on the creature's head. As the deer came in range Eliwood held his breath, and took his shot. A bullet of compressed air was sent flying right for the creatures forehead.

"Please go down!" The exasperated monk yelled after firing the shot.

(WC 326)