Cave Stories [C Mission]

Mission Details:

Nothing like spending the day in a creepy old cave, right?

Meika was beginning to wonder if she bit off more than what she could chew, by taking on this mission that was available. Apparently the kunoichi was going scroll fetching, yeah sounds easy enough until you have to think about where the scroll was located. A cave. . which had the possibility of being infested with rabied bats, rats, and maybe even creepy crawly spiders and bugs. Not the type of place that anyone would be iching to just jump in to.

But here she was, a blazing torch in hand since the Kamigawa didn't have any special fire tricks up her sleeve. Her familiar was at least kind enough today to accompany her on the mission, even though many larger birds didn't like the idea of being in cave that closed them off from the sky above. Maybe this bird really did like her? It was beginning to be hard to tell since some days Nanaki didn't hold back on the attitude and snappy beak.

As of now though, the black hawk - eagle was calm and content as he rested amongst her right shoulder. So far he hadn't decided to peck at her.

Meika was just now nearing the mouth of the cave, which was a hideous thing to get to. She had first had to travel up a mountain of stone stairs. which was formed into the winding rocky side of one of Kumogakure's mountains. So it kinda all made sense.

Her eyes peered wearily into the mouth of the cave. Not even three foot into the cave and the surroundings already became absent with the light from the outside. It was a good thing that she brought the lit torch. Meika glanced back the outside once more, contemplating about what she had gotten herself in to, as well as reminding herself that she had dealt with worse than this in the past. Well hopefully, as long as the cave didn't have some sort of mysterious man - eating monster hiding within. After her little hesitation, Mikea finally disappeared into the dark depths of the mountain cave. Her torch danced within the shadows casted from the rock walls, and lit a little circle around both her and the bird.  Meika felt the tickle of feathers being brushed against her neck, as Nanaki quickly twisted his head around. Entering the cave has suddenly made him alert and aware of what he had actually gotten himself involved in. Maybe he too was regretting this adventure.

But there was no going back now. Nanaki was too loyal to just abandon the Kunoichi by herself within the cave, or maybe he just didn't want to take the chance of getting lost himself by trying to fly back out the way they came. Meika wasn't certain which one it was. Just that she was glad that the adventure wasn't a solo one.

As she proceeded on the path that winded through the cave, she would notice that the path started to dip downwards. As if gollowing deeper into the depth of the mountain. As long as the path didn't suddenly plunge herself into some sort of hole or crevice, Meika will do her best not to worry herself too much.

Each footstep echoed off the rugged stone walls, and Nanaki took it in himself to make a soft 'cooing' sound. His bird language traveled deep inside the swallowing darkness. At least there was no bats to respond, as of yet. Her torch light never fell across any wicked figures or twisted monster, or any frightening bugs. But they also haven't found no sign of a scroll either.

She wondered to herself about how far this cave would take them?

And that was when she heard the dull whispers up ahead. Like a mixture of multiple voices talking in hushed tones amongst themselves, perhaps unaware of the stranger woman in their midst.

Meika's eyes followed to the bird amongst her shoulder, wondering if his attention would be drawn to the direction of the voices up ahead. But to her surprise, Nanaki didn't seem at all bothered or alarmed by the hushed whispers. She wondered if he even heard them at all.

The more they walked on, the louder the whispers grew. It was clear that it wouldn't be long before they walked right on top of the source. And the mystery would soon be discovered whether Meika liked it or not. A part of her wanted to turn back, but spooky things was not one of her real weaknesses. It was large part of her life and also intertwined in with her unique blood.

They must be only a few feet away from whatever or whomever it was that was uo ahead. So Meika took a deep breath and shoved her torch further forward, her arm reaching out to finally cast a light to reveal the whispering. The torch light casted into the area and it her disbelief there was nothing there. The path was as empty as it has been during their journey through it. And the whispering had suddenly stopped.

Meika moved the torch a little over to the left. and then to the right, but there still was no sign of anyone about within the cave. And the dead silence was even more disturbing, the absence of the hushed voices had turned her blood cold. Even the hairs along the back of her neck pricked, giving Meika the sensation that she was somehow being watched by someone or something.

Perhaps it was ghosts.

Perhaps she was having another one of those crazy encounters that most would deem her insane for having.

Meika closed her eyes for a brief second, which she soon regretted as the full darkness only made her feel even more uncomfortable. She pushed her silly little fear down and allowed herself to accept that this was normal. Ghosts are normal. And she was bound to see them and hear them. This is who she was.

Her feet moved forward along the path. The dark, and very empty path. It was quite narrow and never split apart, but after another fifteen feet within the path suddenly started to open up. The walls sprate further apart and widened into a large dome.

Het eyes scanned the surroundings, and was astonished to find that the walls were lit by metal sconces that scattered along the surface. There was no telling how long those flames has been lit. Or by whom.

Nanaki suddenly ascended from his spot on her shoulder and took flight. From inside the dome space, Meika couldn't even see where the ceiling hung. It was just too large and above her was swallowed by the darkness. "I feel like I have the right to assume that the scroll is somewhere within this part of the cave." Meika dared to say out loud to herself. Her words jumped back at her from the open echoing of the empty space. Wouldn't it be hilarious if she never found a scroll in this forsaken place? She wouldn't probably end up haunting the mission advisory if that ended up being the case.

Meika moved further into the dome, her phantom eyes ate at what the scenery had to offer. The sconces did little in such a big place, but at least she could see that there was no monster waiting for a snack. The floor was leveled stone and held no secret treasures. But the further she went, the sooner she came across a pool of crystal blue water. The pool stretched to about seven yards across and the woman failed to spot the bottom as she peered within it. There was no telling how deep the water went. She couldn't help but feel shocked to find such a beautiful specimen within such a damned place. For she knew that she would never willingly return within this cave unless she really must.

Meika went back to her search for what should be the scroll. She had no clue where Nanaki was at the moment and hoped he didn't end up being lost, or had abandoned her after all. She drew her eyes away from the crystal clear water and ventured deeper into the dome. Eager to see what was still within, but also eager to make it back out of the mountain and return home.

Her eagerness to adventure was short-lived when she came across the skeleton. Now all she wanted to do was go home.

But Meika was a Kamigawa, and it would be foolish of herself to retreat over the dead. Her eyes ran over the blackened bones that propped in an awkward position against a ledge. One careless breath could easily send it scattering onto the floor. Probably even blow it into dust.

The skeleton reminded her of the hushed whispers that she heard along her way in. There was a chance that many had died within this very cave, and the whispers were the spirits of all who had gotten lost or ceased within. A part of her felt sorry for the skeleton. Anyone who has died here will never be properly laid to rest. This was their burial. But she couldn't keep getting distracted. The scroll must be somewhere around here. Was this person looking for the same scroll before they died? Or had they been here for a different objective?

She kept on with her search, leaving the skeleton behind on its own once more. Her search didn't take long before it brought her to a giant crevice that split the room apart. She had to halt in her tracks as dread threatened to break through. The crevice was far too deep. A fall within would meet certain death. And so far by the looks of it, there was no way across to the other side. No bride and no path. It was a dead end.

And that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that Meika was able to see what was on the other side of the crevice. A large metal claw emerged from the stone with a rolled up item held within its taloned grasp. Every inch of her being was certain that the item was the very scroll that she was meant to return with. Which of course was all the way on the other side of a crevice, way out of her reach and impossible to grasp. This mission had indefinitely became a difficult one. One that she wouldn't possibly be able to accomplish on her own.

The crevice was not something a ninja could maneuver their way across unless they had some specific climbing fear or a way of flight or teleportation. Which Meika had neither of. And the scroll was still too far for her to use her space - time pull to retrieve. She was running low on options very quickly. Maybe this cave really was going to defeat her.

Meika took the time to scan the crevice once more while weighing what scarce options she could probably make up. There had to be SOMETHING.

Then a sudden screech echoed harshly off the cave walls. The kunoichi turned her head over into the direction of the squawl as Nanaki dove from high above and flew past her. He didn't even pause as he continued to fly over the crevice and to the other side of the dome. He made it seem so effortlessly as his beak buried into the parchment of the scroll and tugged it from the metal claw. It didn't take long before the bird had the scroll within his possession and he flew back over to where Meika was. She stood there in disbelief. For the amount of time she spent feeling helpless, Nanaki took it upon himself to show her how useful he could be, and how troubled she could be without him. It almost. . . Almooost was enough to annoy her. But instead Meika grinned at the bird as he settled back onto her shoulder. It was time to return with the scroll and claim their reward.

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{WC: 2,021}

{Mission Claims} 4k ryo + 2k for Chunnin + 20 AP + 15 Tickets

Meika's Claims:

Familiar Claims:

Approved