The Return (Village Entrance)

"Fourteen long years, and I've finally taken my first steps into the sand once again." Daemon thinks, gazing at the long stretch of sand before him. He sadly smiles as memories of his time growing up here began to play in the corners of his background. He stood there for a long few minutes, letting the old memories wash over. They were faded with time, and washed off much of the feelings and color they once had in his heart, but they were still precious to Daemon, as precious as the memories he had created during his time of wandering between place to place. Not all the memories he had of this place were good, or great memories, but even the saddest of memories were treasured nowadays as the time spent upon this land grew shorter.
He watched the sands swirling around him, the gentle breeze rolling loose sand across the ground. His smile was halfhearted, as he started to remember when he first heard of Suna being attacked by Kumo. 
The running for three days and nights before collapsing from exhaustion. The hope that word would reach him that they had survived, that the village shinobi of Suna were strong. Those hopes were dashed quickly, and once again, Daemon had begun to wander. He had wandered to escape the feeling of loneliness he felt, to escape the memories that at the time were not precious to him, and he had wandered because he felt as if he had no where to go anymore.
But that had changed. It was time to stop dwelling upon the past, and continue his journey towards Suna. He didn't want to wait any longer to return to his home once again. It would be nice to return, to see what had survived since he left, and what had faded to dust and was now regulated to mere memories.
His journey was a long one, and he kept losing his way towards the gates of the city. It had been too long, and his memory wasn't the best guide to return to a city that he hardly knew anymore. Three times, he had realized that he was wandering in circles, and three times he had to get himself back on track. He let the winds carry him when he could, and rested in the shade from the heat when the heat became too much to bear. The land of Suna, the desert seemed to have shifted over the years, and many a path he thought existed; no longer existed besides in his memories.
He stopped along an oasis he was certain didn't exist when he left, and enjoyed the cool refreshing water in his mouth and on his skin. He rested at this oasis long enough to recover his stamina, and to figure out which way he should go from there. Once he was completely refreshed, he stands, brushing the sand off of him, and continues upon his journey.
Eventually, he found an old path that either the sands hadn't claimed or was purposely kept cleared. Daemon had no idea which was the case, but Daemon used the path to his relief. Traveling on the path was better and faster than trekking straight through sand. 
"I wonder if anything I knew is still the same," Dameon muses to himself, thinking of the things he could remember. "Did that old bar survive the destruction of Suna? Did it survive the one attack by Kumo, but fail to survive the attack by the missing ninja? Or maybe it closed down while I was away."
He continued to muse about various building that had been around during his time. He smiled at the thoughts, and hoped that the village hadn't change as much as he had feared it had.
His memories -as he walked along the path, neither slowly nor fast, just a normal pace- turned back towards his travels, as he smiled. His travels could be considered benign, sometimes even boring. He had mostly explored some old ruins, some other destroyed villages. Occasionally, he had joined other wanderers in hunting down missing ninjas. Those had been intense at times, but only because of the feeling of danger, and having his heart racing, his blood pumping, his flight or fight instincts taken to the extreme. He shakes away the rest of those memories, not determined to lose focus now that he was so close to being home.
He continued upon the old pathway, when a thought went through his mind, "Is this the same road I traveled on when I first left Suna. The old landmarks along the road have faded away, but my steps keep quickening, as if my body and unconscious mind realize that I am on something familiar, and knowing that very soon the very gates of Suna will be before me."
He climbed over the sand dune the path followed up, and upon topping, a genuine smile broke his face, as for the first time in fourteen years, Daemon laid eyes upon the gateway that lead into the heart of Suna itself. Judging the distance, he realized it was only another hour or so at the current pace he was keeping. He grinned, and started walking towards the gates. As he continued to approach, his grin shifted as he could see damage to the right cliff. It was black and charred. Once he was standing almost directly beneath the cleft, and he realized something even worse. There was hundreds of dead shinobi on every layer of the Cleft. His once happy grin was now a frown, as he wondered who the unfortunate souls were that staked the gateway into Suna itself. 
Daemon stood staring upon the people for what seemed like an age, before turning towards the cleft itself.
"I am Daemon Terumi, and I am here to return to Suna after a long time away. Please, I wish to speak to the Kazekage, and see if he will allow me the ability to return to my home once again." Daemon would shout towards the gate, not daring to approach without at least some formal invite to step inside. He had no wish to join the dead that were adorn upon the Cleft.

[WC 1039]

Daemon would silently release the breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, the tension in his shoulder disappearing in an instant when he heard someone tell him to approach the guard shack. Daemon would follow the instructions, approaching slowly and cautious, until he saw an old man looking at him out of the guard booth. 
The older man gave Daemon information of the village, explaining the policy of allowing anyone to enter, who the Kage was, where he was, and even giving some greater detail that Kenshin Uzumaki seemed to care for the village. At least as far as Daemon translated the man's words. Why else would a Kage delay rebuilding the Kazekage's Mansion, and focus on rebuilding the village itself. That spoke volumes to Daemon, as his journeys showed what happen when those with too much power abused it too much. It was why many shinobi decided that they would rather go missing and use their powers for robbing, opressing those weaker, and whatever they felt like. 
Daemon would smile at the man, and say, "Thank you for your assistance. It was greatly appreciated."
He would give a slight bow of his head towards the man, before turning and heading through the Cleft. A rush of feeling went through him as he walked with the two cliffs in between him. He looked straight up, marveling at the city's defensive wall. The memory of him leaving flashed through his head. His head held high and confidant, not showing any fear, lest his father used it against him. He had moved fast, rushing to leave the village, to leave the sands behind him. Only now did he take his time walking into the village. A sense of hope and a sense of dread filled him. He wasn't certain if he wanted it to be like he remembered, or if he preferred it to be new. On the one hand, familiarity would allow him to adjust to village life easier, but the memories that would surface could either be good or bad, or both. However, if everything was new then he could create new memories, better memories. The only downside was that he might feel out of place, out of time.
"Enough delaying, it doesn't matter if the new Kazekage had managed to perfectly match my memories brick, sand, and and flower pots, or if it was completely different. Delaying won't help me at all." Daemon would declare out loud, allowing himself to step through the gates fully, taking in the view of his home for the first time in fourteen years.
A tear rolls down his check as he looked upon Suna. The village still was here, and to Daemon that was all that mattered. He could finally return home. Daemon fully stepped out of the gates, and headed deeper into the village, seeing if he still remembered how to get to Suna's hospital still.


[WC 485, TWC 1524
Can i claim stats in this thing? 
Claiming +15 stats,
claiming 1524/8000 for Water Release]

[exit thread, claims previous post, looking for approval]

Can