Two Parts, One Connection

The sun was already high by the time Dracoso headed out from his home. He was still recovering as his teacher had checked in on him the day after the funeral to see how he was doing. They talked a while and discussed the concept Dracoso had in mind. The snake he had seen stuck out in his mind and he wondered just what he had experienced. As they talked, the teacher occasionally seemed to get lost in thought before dropping back into the conversation with another point or two. Dracoso noted this and decided to ask, "Is everything ok? Every time I mention the snake, you seem to lose focus."

His teacher nodded, "there are a few things on my mind about that snake. The first is that I myself tried to bond with that snake and it didn't care much for me." A look of wry interest crossed Dracoso's face as his teacher continued, "look, it chose for me. we don't always succeed. So wipe that grin off your face." Dracoso shrugged with a smile and listened in, "that snake gave me a minute it seems to show it what it wanted, then turned away as if I was another wall. It has some kind of intelligence in its head, but I do not know what it's looking for."

Dracoso nodded and sat back in his desk chair as he asked, "so what other thoughts are on your mind?" The teacher scratched as his chin, "well, you had asked once in class about familiars and what purpose they held-" Dracoso slipped in, "to which you told me it was far too early to learn about." The teacher looked at him and continued, "and so I think now would be a good time to tell you a bit more."

Dracoso sat on the edge of his chair as he felt like he was getting a private lesson from his teacher. The mentor stood, pacing as he spoke, "familiars are generally animals which bond with a shinobi to travel alongside them and keep them safe. Some familiars fight while others are simply support animals. Familiars that are trained can become powerful enough to cast almost the highest level of jutsu there is. There is an organization that you can even pay who will help you to retrieve a familiar if you feel you are unable to do so yourself and bring it to you."

Taking in every word like rain over the desert, Dracoso let his mind imagine all kinds of familiars. Imagining them making clones and flickering and even swallowing enemy ninja whole. The excitement ran through him as he asked his teacher, "so what is it like to have a familiar? Do you speak a whole new language when you bond with them? Do you share senses?" His teacher chuckled at Dracoso. He held out his arms to either side, looking from one hand to the other before looking back to him. "Do I look like I have a familiar? That snake was my first try. From what I have heard from others who do have familiars, it is like having another sense form. You share thoughts almost as if sharing breaths, they have told me. Beyond that, I can only imagine."

His teacher sat on the edge of his bed and looked at him. Dracoso looked back and gave a nod after a minute of silence. "Well... how do you make the bond?" He asked somewhat awkwardly. His teacher grinned and shook his head, "this isn't going to be like a test, Dracoso. At least not a written one. Think of the funeral mission as a test of your character. This would be more of a test of your communication. Whether you can communicate with this being on equal terms and whether it sees you as an appropriate partner." 

Communication. Dracoso was great a communicating to people. It was communicating with people he struggled with. With animals, it felt even further of a goal. As if on cue, one of the boarlings slid the door open a crack and stuck its head in. It gave off two firm sniffs before strutting back out, clopping down the stairs. "What was that about?" his teacher asked. "Breakfast will be ready soon," he replied, running his hand over his face. He breathed out slowly, taking the confidence he had felt from his last mission. With a smile, his teacher stood and patted him on the shoulder.

"That face you had a minute ago. You used to always make that face when you first showed up into my class. Every time something seemed out of reach, you looked like you were trying to swallow your own teeth. But the face you have right now is showing me that you are ready" his teacher said firmly. Dracoso looked him in the eye, feeling the confidence solidify inside him. He nodded and stood up, giving his teacher a hug. "I can't tell you how to handle that snake, I didn't do much better myself. Just be yourself and be open to it. That's all I can say" his teacher advised.

They headed down to breakfast, his teacher joining the family. Dracoso had not invited his mentor home or had him visit before, so he was in for quite a bit of regret. His teacher shared several stories of Dracoso's 'exploits' at the school, including the clone legs story of Dracoso's nightmares. After breakfast, Dracoso had more than enough resolve after having all of his embarrassment drilled out of him.

So, he made his way down towards the adoption center. The building stood cleaner and far more respectable than the first time he had laid eyes on it. The first time he came by here, a dog had run out of a hole in the front wall of the building. He shook his head with a chuckle to himself as he walked up. As he approached, the bell on the front door jingled as someone was leaving the building. He looked up to make sure he didn't bump into them, but no one was there. He felt an odd sensation hit his leg and he quickly grabbed at it, lifting the same dog from his memory by the collar.

The dog licked playfully at his hand as it looked up at him. He sighed and looked back to the building. With the windows clean and clear, he could see the old man and boy struggling to manage the animals. Even with them divided, the animals seemed to have full freedom within the building. Dracoso carried the dog up to the front door, opening it before stepping inside to the din of the store. Far more animals seemed to have made their way to the adoption center and were outnumbering the pair.

After placing the dog into a holding area with two other pups, he used his ventriloquism jutsu to speak right beside the ear of each animal. The animals jumped or turned in shock, quieting down as they scanned their surroundings for the origin. "That is much better," Dracoso said through a sigh of relief. The two in the store nodded in agreement. The old man walked up, "Welcome back. What are you doing back here again?" Dracoso pulled out the mission paper, "I wanted to give you a hand again with putting this place in a bit better shape. Plus... I feel a bit more trained and a bit more ready." 

The old man looked him in the eyes firmly, weighing him. Dracoso returned his gaze calmly with steady breaths. After a few awkward moments, with a soft cough from the boy, the man gave him a grin and a nod and patted him hard on the back. "We shall see if she agrees then," the old man said. Dracoso smiled back warmly for a moment before it dropped. "She?" he asked. The old man began to nod and stopped. He looked Dracoso in the eye as he raised an eyebrow. "Well, what did you think she was? A male?" Dracoso's mouth opened and closed slowly as he tried to figure out what to say. The old man shook his head as he chuckled at Dracoso, enjoying every moment.

"Every animal has a gender. I hope you know at least that much, boy?" The old man prodded him. Dracoso waved his hand off, "I know that. I just... didn't think about it when I was considering a familiar. I just, kind of imagined us fighting together." The man nodded sagely, pretending to stroke a beard he didn't have, "Ah yes. The unknown soldier and the unlabeled snake who defeated the unnamed kage in the unseen land. It will be a tale for the ages." He gave a deep chuckle as Dracoso blushed at his words. "Fine. Just get your laughs out. I am here to handle a mission." 

The man settled down from his laughter before taking on a more serious tone, "and how far would you go for that mission?" He looked Dracoso in the eye, referring to something other than what was written on the paper he held. Dracoso stared back firmly, "as far as I need to." The man gave a small shrug as he broke eye contact, "well, that may still not be enough, but if you help us, I might just teach you a few things." Dracoso asked curiously, "teach me a few things?" 

The man spanned his hands out to the room full of animals who were beginning to recover their energy. "How to handle animals. How to train animals. How to feed them and pet them and look after them in general if you want too," the man outlined. Dracoso nodded and the three of them, the boy included, squatted in the middle of the store floor to talk amongst themselves.

"So why are there so many more animals here?" Dracoso started. "People keep bringing in strays and one-off situations that we have to deal with," the boy answered him. As if to respond, a dog began to bark loudly before Dracoso spritzed it with a quick squirt of water from his hip flask. The man grabbed the flask and shook his head, "you don't punish a dog just because it barks. All that teaches it is that it will get punished when it acts. You need to look at this from the perspective of the animal and its understanding." 

Dracoso looked over at the dog to see it looking a bit tamer, yet with a bit of caution in its eyes. He leaned over and offer his hand to pet it, as it pulled away quickly. "Palm up boy. Palm down looks like you are going to grab it. Palm up means you are wanting to offer it something." Dracoso silently nodded and turned his hand over and held it down below the level of the dog's chin. The dog cautiously walked up to his hand and gave it a sniff before licking it softly.

It felt like slow learning, like working out a new muscle, but he began to look at things from a new perspective. Most of these animals had probably lived free until now and only understood how to run after the things they wanted and survive. Now that they were stuck here, they didn't understand where they needed to go or what they needed to do. The man gave lesson after lesson as they took the animals out one by one to clean and prepare. 

Make sure you are clear in your intentions before acting with the animal. If an animal is stiffened up, it is mostly on guard or uncomfortable. Smaller animals are generally quicker in their actions where larger animals are more measured. Eating before the animal shows dominance over it. Eating with the animal shows equality. Making eye contact can be good in some situations and bad in others. For barking, it is better to not respond to the barking and instead try to reward the animal when it is silent or comes to you without making noise. To always consider the choice of Shaping, or the act of rewarding based on the animal's actions more and more closely resembling the intended response.

So many lessons taught in so little a time while they washed and treated the animals. Some had fleas which flushed out quickly. Others had rashes or hot spots which needed some basic medical treatment. Many worked themselves up from all the attention. hours of cleaning and training for the many animals. Dogs that needed to be housebroken. Cats which needed their claws trimmed. Birds who just didn't care for humans at all. After each got its attention, the animal seemed to settle down and relax. 

The sun had already set, and night was moving in. Dracoso could feel soreness across his body from struggling with all those animals. A few claw marks and even a small beak imprint in his shoulder were his trophies from his work. The boy gave a yawn nearby and the man looked between the two of them. "Well, that should make one heck of a difference. We have several individuals stopping by tomorrow to look over our animals." He glanced at the boy before saying, "Ok son, you head on home. We have a bit more business here before I close up." 

The boy looked questioningly at the old man, wanting to know what business there was left, before letting out another yawn. "Off with you. Before you fall asleep in the street," he gestured towards the door gently. The boy only nodded and walked out, only the jingle of the bell remaining after his departure. The man looked to Dracoso and gave him a tired smile, "now you look ready to meet her." 

Dracoso looked at him slightly confused before saying, "If I look anything like I feel, I look exhausted and like I was washed the same as the dogs. After getting into a fight. A fight that I lost, and then forgot that I lost to fight and lose again." The man chuckled and patted his back, "Ah, it's not that bad boy. Besides, you said you were ready, didn't you?" Dracoso felt a bit nervous, with the remaining energy he had. He looked at the man and asked him with a touch of desperation in his voice, "I really don't want this to fail. Wouldn't it be better to do this when I am at my best?"

The man measured Dracoso with his eyes. He seemed to break down his resolve and hand it back to him with his words, "how do you think it felt to that snake when she was brought in here? Do you think she was at her 'best'?" He said as he gently pushed Dracoso towards the back door. "Do you think everyone else who came here to try to bond with her wasn't already at their 'best'? She saw something in you the last time you visited. I saw her looking at you. She seemed to give you more weight than most of the others. Especially since I saw you looking at her. Not like a prize or some kind of tool. Like she was a whole new world of possibilities." 

Dracoso tried to think back to that moment. His mind sluggish from how tired he was. They were already through the back door and moving towards the room of small cages in the back. He remembered a wave of sensation that ran through his mind. As if a soft touch of connection had met his curious thoughts. He reached back, trying to remember that feeling. He heard the door click as he opened his mind, and that feeling returned in full strength.

Her eyes.

She was staring at Dracoso from across the room. He felt as if a thread of fate woven between their sight. He felt his heart beating and his body shifting in the air. She seemed to shiver slightly, with her scales slowly changing. Dracoso's mind moved on its own, taking in the scales and imagining the possibilities of the light and the camouflage that he remembered. A few moments later, as if a delayed respond, she seemed to slightly pale to the lighter color of the box she lay in. A small wave of confusion ran through his mind before what felt like a small wave of comfort followed it. He felt as if he imagined that the snake was saying it changed to show that it could.

The old man silently looked from one to the other before saying softly, "You may want some privacy. There is a small room out in the back where you can... 'talk'." He left the door open and softly padded out. A second click behind Dracoso sounded, letting him know the outer door was open.

The snake continued to hold his eyes. She almost seemed as fascinated in him as he felt held by her eyes. He slowly walked up, noticing as he approached that the box had been moved somewhat on its own for easier access. He stood right before the cage, the pressure weighing as if waiting on the next sign. His thoughts suddenly began to race, the thought of the back room flashing out. As his mind found it, it felt almost as if two hands brought it to him. One was his own, the other was this pressure he had been feeling. As the thought coalesced, the snake blinked and settled down. looking up at him from a resting position. 

He took a breath, feeling as if his mind was heavier, yet much lighter all at the same time. He carefully picked up the box, trying not to jumble it too far. As he stumbled slightly due to his tiredness, he felt a gentle pressure on his arm that made him stop. The snake had slid through bars and was running up his arm. Every place she touched felt like a smooth embrace. His nerves racing similarly to how his mind did with his thoughts. As she left the cage fully, he gently placed it down before moving quickly towards the open outer door. 

As he moved, he realized that he had not accounted for the weight of the snake and he felt himself pitch forward slightly. A weight on his lower back seemed to press into his tailbone, supporting him as he caught himself. He felt and realized that the snake had extended itself down and pressed its tail into him to give him the balance he needed. It had felt almost natural to let her support him as he stood back up straight. In his tired state, he was more receptive to what was happening and less analytical to what was to come next.

He walked more carefully, adjusting with each step. It felt almost as if there was a phantom layer of muscle layered over his arms and legs, accounting for the new weight. As he entered the back room, he closed the door and gently sat down cross-legged. The snake was already sliding down his leg as he sat and positioned itself looking up from his crossed ankles. 

Dracoso gave out tired sighs as some part of him tried to figure out what to do next. Feeling only walls in his own mind as the snake looked up at him, almost expectantly. His mind began to race as he felt himself contained within his own lack of preparation. A wave of cold seemed to flow over him, stopping his thoughts. He felt it originate from his feet. he looked down at the snake and saw that she was sitting coiled with her head slightly tilted. She gave a soft flick of her head as if to say, "come now." 


He felt his tiredness. His worries had all run dry. His thoughts weren't coming. All he felt now was tired. So, he laughed. he laughed at himself. He laughed at the situation. He laughed at anything. Until he was out of laughter. He felt like he didn't care for just a moment. That he was here right now, with her, and that was all that mattered.

It was in that moment that he felt that pressure, that presence, shift inside him.

It was as if, for a moment, he saw himself sitting on the floor above himself. He felt thoughts moving calmly and slowly that weren't his own. He took a deep breath instinctively and saw through two sets of eyes that as both of them breathed in sync. The feeling was intense and immense in his own mind. It was intoxicating yet calming. He wasn't sure what to make of it and as quickly as it had come, he felt himself shift back into his own body fully.

The presence was still there. A gentle weight that seemed to rest naturally and comfortably into a space in his mind. The snake gently slid back up his leg, making its way to rest around his shoulders where it would be carried fully. He began to turn his head before feeling as if he knew right where she was. It felt as if her thoughts were transmitted right into his senses. He began to stand, catching himself before he tilted over too far, and rose. As he exited the room, he remembered the sensation of imagining her scales camouflaging her. He wondered at her just if she had a name or wanted to be named. The words seemed to slip through his mind, sut for hiding, sui for sleep. He unconsciously nodded to himself as he said softly, "Sutsui. Welcome home." He didn't notice the last words he said as he wandered to the front.

The old man was just finishing up sweeping the last part of the store as the back door swung in. He looked up to see Dracoso, almost dead on his feet. His eyes were lidded and he had an odd, knowing smile on his lips. "I take it that things went well?" The man asked softly. Dracoso simply walked over to the man, gently shifting his weight to reveal just a small bit of Sutsui sitting across the back of his shoulders, asleep. The man nodded silently and held the string to the bell as he opened the door. Dracoso walked out without a word as he headed home. 

He carried a new weight, a good weight this time, with him.

{exit}

D-Rank Mission: Adoption Center (Part.II) (Log for part one: Family or Familiarity)

Rewards: 2500 Ryo + 12 AP

WC Total: 3755 (Rounded to 3750)
Max Stats: WC to AP = +74 AP

2000 WC - Familiar Claimed - Sutsui - (Upon full approval)

Jutsu Claimed:
Rank C > B - Water Clone - 500/500 (added remaining 75 to the 425/500 from last post: Thought of the Past and Thoughts of the Future)
Rank D > C - Spine Chill - 500
Rank D - Fuinjutsu Breaking - 500
Rank D - Basic Sealing Technique - 500
Rank B - Hidden Mist Technique - 175/1500

Approved for all except Sutsui as its still under review but once it has been fully approved then you are all set to add it to your stat page.