Bear Tracks [Village Entrance]

It suits Su-Jin's rotten luck perfectly that the first tip she'd get on her mother's location in years would be 'hey, try poking around the melted husk of Sunagakure'. It wasn't much of a tip at all - the man had said it in this real amused way, like he was fucking with her. But...

Su-Jin misses her, desperately.

So she tugs her pale brown cloak a little tighter around herself, pointedly ignoring the dark shapes littering the ground before the gates and the incessant buzzing of flies. Even if she had the sense to pick up better-suited clothing for the weather the first time she'd stepped into Wind Country, it doesn't help this daughter of the Snow Country all that much. She's sweating like a pig. At least her team isn't here to poke fun at her for it, like they were all those years ago in Haven... god, she misses them, too. The late afternoon sun has begun to dip lower on the horizon, but the chill of a desert night will not set in for a good few hours.

The portly woman squints up at the gates, coming to a stop at about ninety meters away. Just close enough for whoever's at the gate to shout at her, be heard, and responded to. She takes a sip from her waterskin.

The news that Kumogakure had lost the village to missing-nin had disseminated through the neighboring countries over the past few months, but information on the present status of the village was shakier.  The man she'd talked to back at that pub had claimed that he'd stayed here for a week, picked up a few contracts, and been on his merry way - "Just don't do anything stupid," he'd lilted, that mocking grin on his face. That's the plan, anyway...

[300]
[TWC: 300]

Su-Jin doesn't wait long. A little too far away, then. She walks closer, this time waiting for the figure upon the gates to indicate for her to stop. As she nears, her form becomes more distinct - an adult woman with olive skin and even expression, cloak pulled around herself tightly.

"Afternoon," she calls politely, once she's neared to a much more reasonable distance. There's a sort of rote chipperness to her voice, likely force of habit... but for the most part, she just sounds exhausted.

[85]

Su-Jin notes the ease and confidence of the man above her as she comes to a stop. Her eyes don't drift far from him, though the corpses tempt her. She couldn't help but notice that not all of the blood and sand crusted hitai-ate in the dirt bore clouds or hourglasses. Ignoring the corpses gives her a good look at the wall, which earns a visible squint and a gleam somewhere between horror and appreciation in her eyes. What the fuck kind of fireball managed that?

"Yes," she replies simply. "Name's Su-Jin. No village affiliation. I'm chasing a rumor that a family member of mine has passed through here recently," she says, words perfectly sincere. She pulls down the hood of her cloak, grateful for the whipping desert sand being a bit gentler so close to the wall. "After small-time contracts, likely. I intend to sniff around after her and then be on my way."

[155]

Though still sensibly guarded, Su-Jin's posture and expression both relax a touch. Stark, huh? Then the boss would be... the Uzumaki, likely. She hasn't heard much detail about what exactly wrested the village from Kumogakure's avaricious hands, but what's reached her is enough for her to mind her business. Even before seeing the state of the place...

She nods shortly at his terms and warnings. Su-Jin's not been under the protective wing of the rule of law since Yukigakure was still standing. It's a death threat, sure, but a perfectly comprehensible and conditional one. She'll take what she can get here. "Understood. By your leave, then," she says, offering him a small smile as she passes and starts through the narrow passage into the village. The knowledge that this man may be partially responsible for the slaughter around her is neatly compartmentalized away. "Keep warm up there."

Once she steps into the village, she presses her hand over her face and inclines her head forward, pushing the sight of the mummified corpses behind her deep down where she doesn't have to think about it. She'd always had a sort of morbid fascination when she listened to tales of the gates of Kumogakure. Oh... that was intentional, wasn't it? A middle finger to the occupiers, carved in blood. With a frustrated exhale from her nostrils, she pulls her hand away, looking out on to the state of the village. Her heart hurts for the people caught in the crossfire here. At least the Kumo-nin outside knew what they were getting into.

[Exit into Sunagakure]
[260]
[TWC: 800]
[Claiming: Genjutsu Release (250), Generic Sealing Technique (250), Inner Flame (250), 50/250 words towards mastering Genjutsu Release, +4 Health.]

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