Industrious Times [IO, NK]

Baliquis stood by and watched as Isabiri pushed along a flatbed cart, and she smiled politely as she watched Isa move the furniture she selected onto the flatbed. She wanted to offer assistance, but she felt it might come off as offensive to the one-armed female, so she stayed quiet. She stayed in her place and stayed quiet as it was expected of her even now- outside the temple's walls.

Did the air taste better? Does the water? Is there an extra film on the way you saw the world? The way you viewed it? Was it another lens rather than film? Did you see things better and more for what they are? Did you see people for who they were rather than what was said about them?

Baliquis tried to stay in the moment, but she couldn’t keep herself fully grounded. She couldn’t help trying to think how her sister lived or how guilt slowly dug its claws into her and filled her mind with ‘what ifs’... As if she could have done anything differently in actuality. What could she have done?

A small part of her echoed back, “You could have talked to her.” Everyone watched her, and those in the temple did so with an unnature level of hyperfiction. If a movement wasn’t precise, it caused a compounded butterfly effect. It rippled and rustled in these alls and within the boundaries of these Temple grounds. Every single footstep and one misplaced breath could be catastrophic and could have brought her peers more than that step toward figuring it out. Figuring out the fact that Baliquis had usurped a position that wasn’t hers nor was she naturally gifted for. She was closer to figuring out that the only real reason she had done so was to make sure her sister could get the fuck out of there.

Now here she was, twisting and contorting in her hate. In her rage. In her newfound spitefulness and cruelty. The things she had chained to walls and forgotten about until she got the body. They had pulled and yanked their chains away from the wall and the last chain link she could feel rattling and straining against the pull. It was the last defender. The last line of defense between her sanity and her chained-down emotions. They stressed the cord, and it was the link that metallically squeezed and screeched between the nailed-in chain foundation to a wall and the rest of the chain. The foundation was strong and sturdy and held as much as the creatures pulled.

A darker, more sinister voice rippled in the black waters of her mind and soul. Nails rising and hands raising from the dark waters, “We could use the body.” The distorted voice echoed. A shattered mirror reflection of her own voice. “We burned it. We cremated it. Those children remain. We could use their bodies.”


"Uh, yeah, I guess. There are a few options I can think of. We could find a guy who slings communication seals or something like that. I don't know of anybody myself, but I'm sure I could find someone if I looked hard enough. We could set up something we could use to get in touch face to face too, maybe." Isaribi said, and the words bounced around in Baliquis’s faded-out surroundings of…where was she again? A…store? Had she always had difficulty placing herself? No… No, at this moment, she was having difficulty grounding herself.

“We have always been grounded. Just like we have always been here.” The voice resurfaced, “We need those bodies. We need bodies. More bodies.” The voice gurgled, and she tried to ignore it even as her surroundings grew more incoherent and less vivid, “This one? She will do.” Did it mean… Isaribi? “Yes. She’s small…but not weak. Reconnaissance. We can use her.”

"You know, like, summoning? I've connected with people like that in the past, and it works well as long as you can establish ground rules for when you're supposed to use it." Isaribi said, and Baliquis mentally waved a hand- dismissing the thing and the creatures straining against their leashes.

They were at the register now, but she didn’t recall walking over here, who had controlled her to make her follow and move so easily.

“Summoning.” Baliquis echoed as she pulled out her own money and smiled at the cashier, giving her the currency from her own funds she put aside for this, “Keep your funds; it’s on me.” The cashier smiled politely and rand Isa up before Baliquis smiled, took the receipt from the cashier, and handed it off to Isa, “I want to be the type of person who keeps her word, So let’s look into the summoning if you don’t mind…I always was to look into new techniques, and I always want to learn.”

[ WC: 859 ] [ TWC: 3,455 ]

Isaribi wasn't a particularly proud person, having thrown out all traces of hubris during her time on the inside, so when Baliquis offered to pay for the furniture, she simply shrugged as a "suit yourself" kind of gesture, and allowed her to. No point in refusing free furniture, especially if it was from somebody she could probably trust. Without her sharingan, however, Isaribi didn't notice anything strange about Baliquis' movements at all. If this had been a different set of circumstances, however, her attitude might be drastically more uncomfortable than it was at that moment. As it was, though, any potential observations she could have made didn't even cross her mind.

"Err, well..." Isaribi looked around, noting the potential onlookers nearby. "Maybe we should talk about this outside." As she well knew, folks around here were mighty superstitious. So when she really thought about it, blithely telling her new friend all about how two women could sign contracts in blood with each other for some incomprehensible "magic" was a really bad idea. Well, she was used to keeping this kind of talk on the down low, anyway. If it was an inconvenience, she didn't notice it at all. With no great enthusiasm, she started pulling the flatbed out to the parking lot.

She pulled it to a spot in the parking lot that the folks in the shop didn't have line of sight to, and if Baliquis had followed, she would speak.

"Anyway, summoning. Like this." Bending down, Isaribi touched the asphalt pavement, and the summoning formula spread out from her hand before vanishing with a light puff of smoke, revealing Kishibe's tiny form. One look at her, and one look at the formula, and the little firebird seemed to deflate.

"Really? Summoning me to transport human furniture? Surely, you must be joking." Right. She'd forgotten that the firebirds had one of the worst aspects of a group of summoned creatures: an attitude. Well, Isaribi wasn't about to feed the flames here. There were more important matters at hand.

"Just like, get it done, man. This is supposed to be a stealth thing, which is why I picked you over, ya know, that OTHER guy." At that, Kishibe's feathers bristled, but he said nothing more before grabbing the plastic-wrapped bundle of furniture and lifting it effortlessly into the sky. Sighing, Isaribi turned back to Baliquis.

"Like that, see? We can form similar blood contracts with each other, which will let us bring the other to our side in an instant. Uh, there might be issues with distance and location in the long term, but I dunno if that really applies to us." Almost without realizing it, she lazily kicked a pebble across the parking lot. "It's an option, if you're up for it. I can call Kishibe back here and have him bring whatever materials we need with him. We should probably agree on a set of ground rules to agree on for summoning before entering into anything like this, though, right?"

[WC 502]

“Err, well...” Isaribi looked around, “Maybe we should talk about this outside.” In all candid honesty, Baliquis hadn’t considered their surroundings, so perhaps that’s what had put her friend on edge. The fact that she was talking about this so openly and not entirely concerning herself with the fact they were in public or that there were other people around her. Perhaps it was because she was never concerned with talking about how she liked in the Temple, as no one was bold enough to test her within the walls of her own kingdom.

Manipulating them and pulling their strings just went to go and show how well she had learned to work within her own walls. She had not considered that there could be a risk to her foundation among the masses of Hoshigakure’s public. Oh, how serendipitous to be her- at the height of power in a small, isolated corner of the world and yet a complete no one outside of it. She needed that smokescreen as much as she needed to remember how thin and fragile its continuance was.

Once everything was paid for, Baliquis followed Isaribi out as she pushed the flatbed cart with her newly acquired furnishings, pushing it to a corner of the parking lot. As things grew more secluded, Bali noticed there were fewer people around. For a very moment, a thought crossed her mind- ‘OH, Am I going to get murdered here?’ - She felt the tiniest bit of thrills when her mind recognized she could die and no longer have to be bothered with the back-alley politics behind the scenes of the play. Then concern washed those thoughts away. Concern over why she was thinking that way in the first place.

“Anyway, summoning. Like this.” Isa said and bent down to the ground, then put her hand on the asphalt pavement- strange symbols extended out from her hand and across the ground. Then they connected and vanished with a light puff of smoke- then revealed a bird.

“Really? Summoning me to transport human furniture? Surely, you must be joking.” The creature said but internally? Baliquis was mortified. Did it talk? It fucking talked? Like- It talked like Izayumi’s dragon. That’s what she did? She used this- summoning technique black magic- to bring that dragon out. Did she have the same ability to do so? What else could this magic that was ‘chakra’ do?

“Just like, get it done, man. This is supposed to be a stealth thing, which is why I picked you over, ya know, that OTHER guy.” Isa said, and the creature sighed, then took charge of the plastic-wrapped furniture bundle. It flew off, and then Isa sighed and turned to her, “Like that, see? We can form similar blood contracts with each other, which will let us bring the other to our side instantly. Uh, there might be issues with distance and location in the long term, but I dunno if that really applies to us.” Baliquis realized that now, “It’s an option if you’re up for it. I can call Kishibe back here and have him bring whatever materials we need with him. We should probably agree on a set of ground rules to agree on for summoning before entering into anything like this, though, right?”

Issues with the location and distance not being an issue? OH- That transporting Isa did when they went fought that creature in the air-right. Whatever abilities she had could supersede that. This would be good. “Yes, Have Kishibe bring whatever we need. I don’t mind.” Baliquis said and smiled,

“I suppose from my end the only ground rules I’d like there to be is maybe if we debriefed each other of the situation going on after there is a summon- and if you could not summon me in a way where I am not in immediate danger after being summoned- for example, if you could not summon me in some type of body of water, I would appreciate that.” Bali said, “Otherwise, I’m open to whatever you had in mind.”

[ WC: 679 ][ TWC : 4,134 ]

Wow. Isaribi was kind of expecting the other woman to put up a little more resistance than that. Well, as long as they were able to set a clear list of terms, she figured that there was no way this could possibly go wrong. Except, of course, the fact that she had failed to consider that she'd have to dictate what the terms were to Kishibe aloud. After all, she certainly wasn't able to herself. Having to reveal this fact to Baliquis was bad enough, but it's what came after that, that Isaribi was more than a little scared of. She knew, just from looking at people who lived in different parts of town, what others thought of folks like her, and she was fitting right into the image they had created for her. The ignorant, illiterate street girl, who only knew how to fight and cause trouble for upstanding citizens.

With another brief touch, she called Kishibe back to her, the red bird hovering wordlessly before setting down with an elegant wooden box of writing materials. He tugged open a drawer, and looked silently up at Isaribi, acknowledging the solemnity of the occasion. Well, it seemed important to him, anyway. Rituals like this probably meant something, to races like his, but she completely missed out on that. She began to dictate to him what to write down, telepathically, and he began to write, making the details of their contract clear.

The summoner is to inform the summoned of the context and circumstances into which they were summoned as soon as possible after summoning.

The summoner is not to summon the other into situations of direct danger or harm.

The summoners, upon joint consensus and agreement, are able to adjust these terms as they please.

It just looked like fucking squiggles to her. At least she didn't have to end up saying anything out loud up until now. She already felt shitty and stupid enough as it was. Kishibe fluttered up, hovering while holding the paper so Baliquis could see.

"Look good to you?" Isaribi asked. "I, uh, kinda can't read, like at all, so..." She trailed off, feeling the burn of ignominy. Gazing at the ground, unable to look in the other woman's eyes... how did she feel, at the moment? No doubt, she was re-evaluating Isaribi's competence. After all, Isaribi had promised to help Baliquis find something, and being unable to read probably didn't give her much confidence that this one-armed girl would be able to do the job. She was putting a lot of trust here, in Baliquis. At some point in the past, she recalled hearing someone talk about how important and foundational the written word was to humanity, and only now did she begin to appreciate just a little of what he meant.  

There was still so much to learn, and so little time to learn it in, and she wasn't willing to take the time if it meant going through the pre-established channels. State-funded learning was too slow, far too slow, and she was already beginning to cook up a timetable for what she wanted to accomplish with her life.

[WC 526]

For a couple of seconds, Isaribi looked at Baliquis. How did the other woman think she felt? More importantly, how did Baliquis feel? Years and years of reading people with the sharingan, and now she felt so inept. The other woman's ready offer to teach her (HER, of all people) was humbling, but also shocking. Did she really feel that way? The fact that Isaribi couldn't tell just made her feel worse. So much for being a sensory shinobi. Maybe that was just the way rich people talked. Maybe there was just a gap between their life experience that, no matter how close they became, no matter how much Isaribi yearned for a greater connection, would NEVER be crossed. The very thought chilled her to the core. A memory occurred to her, one of her getting out of prison and getting that drive. This time, she'd do it right. She'd live a normal life and make actual friends, and everything would be okay. The fire that had motivated her was still there, but her ability, the power to make that dream happen simply did not exist. That raw truth crushed her like a pallet full of cinderblocks, though she didn't show it on the outside.

Instead, she just gave a little grin that she didn't really feel at all, and when it came around to her turn, bit down on her finger to draw blood. She didn't know how to sign her name, so she just drew a messy, red X shape on the paper. Apparently, this was sufficient, and Kishibe took the paper. With an indignant, telepathic grunt, he vanished in a burst of light, back to wherever it was the oversized fire chickens came from. She'd never been there herself, but honestly, she wasn't the kind of person who was curious enough to try and visit.

"Okay." She took an emergency bandage out of her waist pack and wrapped up her finger. No doubt she'd get Kishibe to heal it later, just to rub it in his face a little. Unlike some of the others, he had a little too much hubris for his tiny body. "Okay, it worked. We should be able to summon each other. With a little bit of work, I think I might be able to bring you as far as other countries. Hell, maybe even other d-" She stopped herself, frowning. Why was she about to tell Baliquis about that? No, more appropriately, why WOULDN'T she tell her? They were friends..... right?

Right?

They'd fought a spatial anomaly already, so why was she so reluctant? There was a reason, but Isaribi was too stupid and ignorant to put it into words, completely unable to convey her feelings. And to just sputter about, to ask her friend for help, to simply reach out made her feel like a turtle turned belly-side-up; vulnerable. So she made the first major mistake of her shinobi career, and simply bottled it up within.

"Err, anyways. It's done now. Easy as that."

[WC 503]

At first, the mention of a flower park was just the thing. Spending time with a friend, even at a place that didn't cost anything to get into, was Isaribi's idea of relaxation. She wasn't the kind to take her rage out on training dummies or in sports, though she had often tried to hide that latter fact from her folks. Of course, after getting out of prison, equipped with only a single arm, she didn't really have to hide anything anymore. There was a silver lining to every cloud, as they said. Well, with any luck, it would only prove a slight obstacle to her plan. Not a very well thought-out plan, mind you, but she could work out any difficulties. All she had to do was emulate the people who had taught her in the first place: keep a cool head, be ruthless, and most importantly, be-  

She dragged herself out of that train of thought. Only darkness lay that way. Baliquis' offer to teach, her though, caused her to perk up visibly. The other woman had taken the news remarkably well, and this new offer would certainly make her own life a lot easier. Isaribi wondered that Baliquis hadn't found her illiteracy surprising, but it wasn't something she thought about too hard. She didn't like where that path led, either.

"Uh, wow. Thanks. I'd really like that." The response was maybe a little too casual for something as gracious as this, but that was just Isaribi's way. Never able to find the right words for the situation, so she ended up just using whatever she felt was the best fit, and this was all she could come up with. Well, she supposed she should expect to spend a lot more time around Baliquis in the near future, which was probably a good thing.

"Oh, right." Isaribi pulled a map out of one of her back pockets, unrolling it so they could both see at the same time. "We can only take the tram part of the way there, and after that it's a walk north. I think it's worth our time, though?" It came out more as a question than a statement, much to her chagrin. Why was her confidence sapped right now? It was like there was a raincloud hovering directly over her head, drenching her with unseen water. It made her feel rotten on the inside.

Speaking of rotten, Isaribi noted that the route to the flower garden had changed. Before, you could just get there from almost any point in the village by public transit alone, but now, it was quite disconnected, forcing people to either walk of have their own method of transportation. Walking was, of course, technically an option, but with the city rapidly growing and industrializing, it was becoming less and less safe. Why, just yesterday, she'd seen a man's head crushed underneath one of those new carts' wheels. Incidents like that became more and more common by the week, and Isaribi suspected that the Council considered it a valid cost to pay for their faster business transport networks, and their new vehicles. Truly disgusting.

So, people like her were faced with a hard choice. Shell out money to buy their own transportation, or just walk. Considering that too many of them simply couldn't afford to pay, Isaribi could only conclude that this was a line of policies specifically made to be cruel. Maybe the motherfuckers thought that if there were fewer poors seen on the streets, certain areas of the city would become more attractive to tourists and potential property buyers. Maybe they were just dicks. Maybe both; she didn't give a shit.

Isaribi looked expectantly at Baliquis, awaiting a response that would no doubt be as prompt as they had always been. She really hoped that the other woman didn't mind walking, even if it meant passing close to those dangerous slip lanes, or just the simple inconvenience of tired legs and wasted time. Could she just teleport them there? Oh, for sure, but the strain on her eyes never faded, while the pain in her legs would vanish in time. So, unless Baliquis had a better solution, she was all out of ideas. Summoning Kishibe to use as transport was out of the question, of course. Maybe when she got to know some of the larger firebirds better, she could just skip this whole ordeal entirely. Flight must be really nice.

Her concern was, unfortunately, born of something of a lack of understanding. Isaribi was, after all, under the impression that people with a background like Baliquis' didn't get out all that often, and judging by what she had said just now, she was probably correct in her assessment. As always, she just stumbled and staggered her way through interactions, somehow managing to land on her feet most of the time.  

The flower park she indicated on the map was a little, tiny zone marked out in a sort of vague, light green. From where they were now, it was just a couple of blocks to a tram station, then a hell of a long walk to the park, but they should have more than enough time to get there before the late afternoon traffic jam. As disappointing as it was to see that the village hadn't gotten any better during her time in prison, it would be nice seeing one of these again.

[WC 906]

Isaribi tried her best not to smile bashfully as they set off toward the tram station. For a brief moment, she wondered what she must look like, to all the others there, walking down the street with her clearly more well-to-do friend, but then she realized that she actually didn't give a shit. One way or another, she was still sort of a pariah, so the opinions of the cityfolk didn't count for much in her mind. Now that she thought about it a little, she couldn't think of a time when they ever mattered, at least when it came to her behavior. At least she was glad that Baliquis didn't seem to be fully comfortable in this situation either. that last little bit about enjoying time with her was, maybe clumsy? Not in a bad way, though, it was actually kind of endearing. Isaribi didn't really mind, as a result.

As they got on the tram, Isaribi pulled up the loose sleeve on her left bicep, showing that, above the unsightly stump, there was a veritable mural of tattoos. Only one of them would be of interest to the tram conductor, of course. No doubt Baliquis would notice, but again, Isaribi didn't really mind. Though she felt reluctant to tell the truth a lot of the time around the other woman, it was relieving to be honest in this respect, at least. Criminality wasn't something she could honestly say she was ashamed of. Not that there was anything thrilling about breaking the law for her. It was just sort of how things worked out for most people like her. Anyway, now that she'd given the conductor an impression (albeit a false one) of who she was affiliated with, nobody would bother them on their ride.

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun, at least." With her one hand, she gripped the strap hanging from above as the tram started moving. "For me? The day's only just started. Food'll be fine. I put it in the fridge, remember?" Honestly, Isaribi didn't blame her for forgetting, it wasn't like she herself had the best memory either.

[WC 354]