Mysterious Aminals [Holiday Mission, Open]

Mission:

Snow dances through the air, heavy on thick pine boughs above. The canopy is heavy and dark, giving the deep forest a sense of timeless stillness. It has been nearly a month that Murata has been taking these strange voyages with companions both nearby and distant, and she is still unsure whether to believe that she is stepping through a real place. The Land of Iron is factual, of course, but on these strange missions she has only rarely seen the samurai that call it home, and much more often seen strange and fantastical things. Her current target is much more mundane, but sounds no less beautiful.

Murata crouches, something catches her eye. It is difficult to tell with the layer of fresh snow, but she can make out the faint imprints of fading rabbit tracks. If this oasis is a gathering place for the creatures of this wood, it is as good a trail as any, and she sets to follow it. No companions have yet manifested to join her, and she has been out for quite some time, simply enjoying the cool and searching for a hint of her goal - perhaps this time she is going it truly alone? She was not brought to this place in her armor, this time, instead dressed warmly in a black coat and scarf, as though she were out for a leisurely stroll along the streets of Kirigakure.

---

236

Shinji began to dress, he wore a buttoned-up, long-sleeved checkered shirt, under a long, high collared, buttonless, white trenchcoat that reaches to just above his knees, the symbol of the Senju clan is sprawled vertically up the length of the coat. He put on long trousers that cover to just above his ankles, his feet have wrapping wound around them and are covered by sandals, the shinobi headband wound around his head, he had recently shaved the sides of his head so his hair cut actually flowed like it was supposed to, he also allowed his impulsive to take over and he had changed his hair to a colour somewhere between blonde and orange. On his back hip sat a weapon pouch with his supplies inside, and on his right leg sat a weapon holster that had his kunai and shuriken inside.

Shinji moved from his bedroom to the hall and started to walk down the stairs, as he took the bottom step his foot crunched, this surprised him and he looked down to see only snow. "Again," he said as his smile faded and his shoulders shrugged heavily. Looking around Shinji could see someone in the distance, he started to slowly approach, making sure they could hear him coming up behind them. "Hey, Hey, Hey" he called out in a friendly, energetic tone if the person were to turn he would notice it was someone he had met before, someone from his village "Murata tutata" he said as he closed his eyes "How are you going?" he opened his eyes again the smile faltering for a second, realising he had said the wrong word in his rush to speak.

WC: 280

Murata slows to allow Shinji to catch up. She recognizes this one, but has unfortunately not had a chance to meet him 'in person', as it were. She hopes that he's suitably warm out here - sandals are such ubiquitous shinobi wear, and Murata cannot fathom why. Perhaps they simply do not value their toes?

"Why do you greet people like that?" she asks him, tone pleasant. "I am happy to see a familiar face."

She gestures to the faint rabbit trail as she starts to walk once more, quick to point it out in case the overeager Senju tramples over it. "Do you have a task, out here today? Or are you just to join in on mine?" she says. The woods are as still and quiet as ever, serenity unbroken by a second voice in the cool and dark. "I am to find some strange clearing..." she trails off, something catching her attention. Near buried in a snowdrift in the distance, what appears to be the shape of a stone statue just barely peeks out of the snow, a presumably-seated figure encrusted in lichen. After a moment's hesitation, she cautiously approaches it, boots crunching through the snow.

When she nears, she stretches out a hand to brush some of the snow from the statue's face - withdrawing it as a huge portion of the lichen seems to shift and hiss, colors shifting as the chameleon angrily reveals itself in a flash of bright red and scampers off into the snow.

"Interesting," she says quietly, watching its colors fade to whites and icy blues as it slinks off.

---

267
TWC: 503

Shinji's face dropped as she asked him why he greeted people in that manner, realising he was saying too much out loud again "When I was young I struggled to remember peoples names. My father told me that it was rude and would irritate people, this would hurt me in finding a job in a professional setting. So, he taught me this method of rhyming peoples names so they stick, you say their name and then you rhyme it, repeat it three times and it sticks. Although I think I'm supposed to do that part in my head", not that the professional setting thing ended up mattering given his choice of profession. Shinji's smile widened across his face and his eyes closed as he slapped his hands together in front of his face in a prayer-like pose "Forgive me" he said loudly, his left eye then opening and his face turning to an optimistic smile as he looked to see her reaction.

"That damn jolly fellow sent me here to find some animals and a clearing" His face turned to concern "What was his name again?" Shinji realised he had never used his trick to memorise it, as he could not rhyme it effectively. "I'm not much of a tracker, do you think you will be able to follow it?" He said, his face widened into a smile again. 

WC: 229
TWC: 509

His reaction indicates that he has heard Murata's question many times, likely spoken in a negative way. It would do well for her to be encouraging.

"I think it is clever," she says. "Repeat as many times as you need." Her taller compatriot's dramatic gesture of apologizes earns a smirk and a small chuckle from Murata. This small glimpse of his family life is endearing, and it fills in some blanks on his carefree attitude. He is not too far from her age, from Murata's best reading, but he feels almost like a counterbalance to the solemn younger teenagers she's been working with.

When he suggests following the chameleon, Murata looks up in momentary confusion. She had been busy puzzling over the presence of a chameleon in such a cold climate. Following it would be a good idea, yes.

"I will try. It is difficult sometimes with animals." Murata forms the Seal of Confrontation, expanding her awareness outwards with her Mind's Eye of the Kagura. 'Difficult' was something of an understatement. Animals with a spark of chakra tend to be quite old, or those who have actively nurtured it or had it nurtured in them by human chakra users. By the time she can detect the flame of their soul, it has matured to a point where they can hardly be considered mere beasts. This chameleon surprises her, a little ember in the distant snow. Perhaps it is part of the magic of this place... or they have very much disturbed this lizardly friend's evening.

"This way," Murata says, following the chakra signature through the snow at a leisurely pace.

---

270
TWC: 773

Murata did not seem bothered by Shinji's mannerisms, he had a tendency to unintentionally rub people the wrong way, but she seemed to not care how he was. More importantly, it seemed she had skills that could've useful in this type of mission, where Shinji was sorely lacking unless someone got injured. Shinji was unfamiliar with this climate and did not realise the creature was out of place, he just suggested following it because it was the only thing around, as per usual he just struck dumb luck. Shinji fell in line behind Murata, who both had useful skills and maybe a better idea of what they were looking for. 

The pair followed the creature for a short distance, although Shinji could not see it he trusted that whatever jutsu Murata was using would be able to track it at this distance, and also that the creature would not be spooked and avoid returning to the grove if that's where it came from in the first place. Shinji noticed that the snow was starting to melt and become thinner around them, however, it was still actively snowing, maybe that meant they were approaching whatever area they sought and it somehow held a different biosphere than the surrounding land of Iron.

WC: 209
TWC: 718

The thick snowflakes gradually turn to thin sleet, and then finally to a cool rain as they follow their quarry. The snow fades, and the pair step into a glade full of wildflowers. The breeze is cool but fresh, as though they have stepped into a pocket of early spring, and a clear pool occupies the center, dotted with water lilies. The chameleon they'd been following crawls up a mossy stone, glaring in annoyance at them with a beady eye as its body mottles with greens and greys.

Murata crouches by the water and reaches down, dipping her hand. It's strikingly warm. Some kind of spring? That would not cause such an effect on its own, but it's certainly curious.

"Are we to retrieve them?" Murata wonders standing and stepping to the rock, scooping her hands around the chameleon, which immediately bites her hand. She seems unperturbed. She lifts it above her head, squinting at it curiously - does their client wish to procure himself some exotic pets? - and then she vanishes from the grove in a flash of holiday magic, the sound of sleigh bells momentarily filling the air in the wake of her removal by the Hollykage. Shinji is left alone in the peaceful clearing, several animals remaining, undisturbed by his presence - a doe, a few rabbits, what appears to be a crocodile in the pond. It seems he will simply have to take one himself to complete the mission.

---

241
TWC: 1014

Claiming:
1x Chameleon Scales, 1x Rabbit Fur
Putting 1014 words towards Thunderclap Arrow (learning D-Rank for  375 words, total of 1014/1125 words for B-Rank) with max stat discount

Approved

The area continued to clear until the pair entered into the grove they were looking for, it was almost like another world from the snowy mountains that led into it. Shinji watched as Murata caught one of the animals and then suddenly vanished, as per usual on these missions after you had accomplished whatever task you were set you would then be transported back to wherever it was the Hollykage plucked you from in the first place. Shinji began to chase around the rabbit, it was quick but not quicker than he was, it took a few seconds until he headed it into a corner and then he was able to pick it up. it squirmed about in his hands but offered very little resistance, and then Shinji was teleported. Shinji no longer had the rabbit but he did have rabbit fur as well as some chameleon scales. Shinji was now standing outside of his home, he entered back into it and went straight back up to his room and began to undress, he was heading out for training before he was transported but now he was tired and was ready for the day to be over, he was hoping that this would be the last time the Hollykage called upon him to do some menial task, or worse fight his disgruntled employees. If the Hollykage took better care of his employees or his product this would not keep happening, especially him requiring them to get dinner for him. Shinji was definitely over the missions, even if the items he received out of them were high tier. Speaking of which Shinji decided that he might want to try his hand at blacksmithing using all the various items he had received lately.

WC: 291
TWC: 1000
Claiming Chameleon Scales, Rabbit Fur, +100 ryo & +5 AP, +10 Vigor, 1000/1500 for Mulitple Earth Style Wall B

Approved