Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oasis walked, a bit of a wander to her directional gait though she kept general pace with Hatsuma. "Hey, I've seen this place before." she states pointing at the building they now approached. Oasis simply followed suit with Hatsuma and entered the building. She listened to the individual behind the desk and then followed her to the room they were told to go to. She stood waiting, the spastic red-head was oddly quiet as she awaited their orders. She looked around the room, it was of simple design, only one entry, meaning only one exit. This was the sort of situation one took advantage of for a sneak attack. This wasn't the case, but the spunky kunoichi thought of a great many things be they important or not. She blinked a few times and then refocused on the task at hand looking to the woman who entered the room after them.

The woman entered the room holding two satchel style packs "These contain your gear, they are addressed to the kind of shinobi you showed a propensity towards." She states handing one satchel to Oasis, and then the other to Hatsuma. She then turned and gathered two lacquered boxes. "These contain your haitate." she states placing those ontop of the satchels the girls would still be holding. "Oasis, you are registered as a medical type shinobi, so you have been issued equipment accordingly." she states as she pulled a little list from a side pocket and placed a small pair reading glasses on her nose. "You have received, some Kunai and shuriken, and some smoke bombs in case a hasty retreat is required. Also included is a standard issue Medical Kit which should prove quite useful given your aptitude." The woman states as she looked to Oasis in between items. Then she cast her discerning gaze over to Hatsuma. "unlike Oasis, you didn't seem to show an extremely clear propensity, however you seemed to lean towards the combat type, and so that is the gear you have been issued. "The standard Kunai, Shuriken, and Smoke Bombs have been issued. You particular item is the Soilder Pills. These are useful when in a tight situation, though it is best to not over use these." she states as she rolled the list back up and put her reading glasses away. "Here, is the thing you need for your mission." she adds as she retrieved the box. "Your mission scroll." she states as she placed the scroll ontop of the box. "I'm certain you have read the requirements, so please do as instructed." she states before turning with a militaristic clip of the heel and then leaving.

Oasis watched as Hatsuma looked over the puzzle box. The symbols were familiar for more than just their representations individually, she recognized them from something specific. Her eyes narrowed and a more serious look took her features before Hatsuma handed it to her. She took the cube and turned and twisted it about in her hands. She pressed on the box lightly she could feel that the kanji was able to move around, so obviously she needed to rearrange the kanji into the proper order, it was really more like two tales. She took a deep breath and as she focused on the cube her amber eyes slowly turned an icy blue color. She worked quietly and deftly sliding the kanji about until the stories were formed. The first tale was one that she was sure many children knew, likely it wasn't the overly important one. It was the tale of the rabbit who lives on the moon. Oasis paused as she looked over the other tale. The tale of the bamboo cutter.
Oasis put the cube down for a moment "I think I have it figured out now." She states quietly as she pointed to it. "The first one is the tale of the rabbit who was taken to live on the moon for his great kindness." She states as she looked at it quizically, why was were these tales important to any mission they were just children's fairy tales. "The other is the tale of Kaguya hime. The woman found in the bamboo by the old bamboo cutter. Kaguya was a daughter of the celestials from the moon, so she was the moon princess." she states shrugging slightly, "I... don't really understand why this is the mission?" however as Oasis was saying this last part she took note of something else in the kanji. "No... wait." she states pulling the puzzle back to her. She saw something perhaps the tale had a message hidden in it. As she scanned over the kanji she founda pattern in the pieces, she had formed two tales sure, however these were a distraction there was one tale inparticular hidden in with the other two. Her father had told he the tale of Kaguya-Hime before, It was a tale he had told her around the campfire, a number of times. But this other thing she was seeing in the kanji was something she had only ever seen written and only in one place, it was inside of her fathers workshop, it was engraved on his anvil. "...Why is this stamped on my fathers anvil?" she questions pointing at the message. "This is a land where though the flesh is cold, hearts are warm. " She states as she looked over the somewhat oddly cobbled together message. "Near the land of flames, and the valley of thunder. Those who have left are not forgotten. For their home will always await their return" She paused a little amused that the two stories when dissected in such a way could say all this. "Hey... Wait, between flames and thunder..." she blinked a few times, before pulling something from the pouch at her side, it was a little scribbling pad and a pencil or sorts. She scrawled out a remedial map of the shinobi lands. "Hatsuma, father told me of a place that exists between fire country and lightning country, its called the land of frost... I think that, maybe that place is what the message is talking about." she states as she looked at the box. "Oh, hey so ... is there anything in the box, or was it all about the message?" she questions as her eyes turned back to amber, and what seemed like a moment of inspired clarity faded with her returning grin.

Oasis cocked her head off to the side. She didn't understand what the land of frost had to do with her. "Yea... Lets go see what this is about then." she states curiously as she took the note and looked at it. She read it but it really didn't give her any further information. "Thats a neat box however." she adds with a bright grin as she looked at the flower shaped wooden device. "Didn't know it would do that." she adds as she stepped out of the room and waited for Hatsuma. "Kay, so... you lead the way, I haven't left wind country before, you have prolly adventured alot more than me with your tribe yea." she states with a smile. "Oh, trouble makers, so are we going to beat up some bandits or somethin?" she questions as she started to walk towards the gate.

((you can make the first travel post.))

Oasis found a little more wandering in her step than she meant to but somehow kept near Hatsuma. "Yea, the old guy is nice, but he says big stuff with alot of confusing words." she states blinking lightly. She tipped her head to the side thinking about it some. "Oh, well that doesn't help me any." she says with a light laugh realizing that the both of the hadn't left the country ever. "Okay. hey I haven't seen a train before either! That sounds like fun, I wonder if dad could make a train, he makes all sorta of neat stuff." she states a bit offhandedly as they approached the transportation district. She looked around curiously at all the interesting shops.

"Ladies!" a loud voiced man shouted out when he noticed the kunoichi in the district. "I can see you are looking to travel, can I interest you in our fine locomotive service?" he questions motioning his hands over his booth.

Oasis lit up and trotted over to the man "Oh boy a train!" she called out as she read several of the signs on the mans booth, one of which said train, since oasis didn't know what a locomotive was. "check it out Hatsuma!" she cheers out calling back to her partner.

"Yes, we offer some of the best prices, and very direct routes, with few stop offs in between." he states hoping to draw the kunoichi to use his service.

After having a nice chat with Chiyoko, Notwen left the albino kunoichi to her recuperation. He gently pulled the door shut behind to make as little noise as possible, then walked down the hall to the lobby of the hospital. The area was practically empty today, except for one or two villagers with minor injuries. The dark-skinned blonde waved to the young nurse behind the reception desk as he left the air-conditioned building. Notwen almost didn't notice the heat that assailed him as he walked out onto the sandy street, but he did have to squint his hazel eyes due to the bright afternoon sunlight that bathed the village.

Notwen turned his head to the right. Ahead of him was a wide street full of bustling townspeople running their errands. On either side of the street loomed sandstone edifices of every size and shape, some being restaurants and neighborhood convenience stores, while others were homes and apartment buildings. Notwen had memorized this area of the village well. In his training he had to run through it blindfolded, which forced him to rely on his Crown Chakra's awareness dome. In a way, it acted like the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan by giving him three-hundred-sixty degree vision. The down-side was that he could only see within the dome, which at the time only granted him up to three feet. After several weeks of sensing people and dodging past them, Notwen was able to see within a dome that extended at least twenty feet away in all directions. Another ability that came with this upgrade was the ability to feel the emotions and intentions, as well as life force of every individual that was within the dome's area. It was a weird feeling, like he had gained the power to tell the future almost. With the knowledge of people's intentions, Notwen was able to foil crimes way before they happened. Finally after several years training his Crown chakra, he had the ability to sense everything within one and a half miles. He was also able to control the range of the dome at will.

The dark-skinned blonde was now half a block away from his destination, the Sand Village mission office. Several shinobi entered and left the cube-shaped building. As he neared the structure, Notwen began to feel the eagerness of those waiting on their assignments, and the frustration or disappointment of those that didn't get the mission they wanted. In order for him not to be overcome by so many emotions, the dark-skinned blonde shrank his awareness dome to a five feet in diameter.

Due to having his awareness dome so close to his body, Notwen did not sense the Hyuuga approach him, so he flinched slightly when the servant spoke. When the man had finished his statement he vanished in a flurry of leaves, most likely a trait the clan had acquired from having originated in the forests of Fire Country. Notwen took a deep breath with his nose, then let it go in a slow whooshing flow from his mouth. It was one of the techniques taught to him by his grandfathers to keep his head clear from any feelings that might cloud his meditations.
"Something tells me Chiyoko sneaked out of the hospital..." said the dark-skinned blonde to himself. "If she continues to do things like this, she's going to end up getting herself killed." Shaking his head, he walked up to the reception desk located at the wall opposite the entrance. The jounin situated behind the desk looked up from the paperwork he was processing.
"May i help you?" he said in a kind, yet frustrated tone. Notwen could feel that the man was tired and had had a bad day, so he did his best to be polite.
"Yes, my name is Notwen Uchiha. I'm here to pick up a mission assignment that the Kazekage has left for me and my team mate." The man blinked, then began to sift through the documents that covered the desk. He frowned when he had not found what he was looking for, but then his face lit up with realization and he reached down below the desk. There was a lot of tussling noises as things moved around inside of a bucket, then the man pulled out a small scroll and held it out towards the dark-skinned blonde.
"Here you go, Mr. Notwen. Is there anything else i can do for you?" said the Jounin.
"No, that would be all." said Notwen as he took the scroll from the man's hand. "Thank you for your time. Have a nice day." With that, he turned around and left. He could feel some appreciation coming from the jounin, and it made him happy that he could at least make a good change in the man's day.

Once outside again, Notwen stuffed the scroll into the pouch on his right hip, then began to make for Chiyoko's family manor. It would have taken him about half an hour to reach it by walking from this part of the village, so he jumped onto the rooftops and began jogging the distance. Without having to dodge people, or having to turn several corners due to the village's irregular street pattern, he could make it in about ten minutes. After about five minutes of jumping over crowded streets, the top of Chiyoko's manor became distinguishable from the distant sandy haze. Finally, after another few minutes of jogging, Notwen jumped off the building across the street and landed lightly on the doorstep. He reached up and pulled lightly on a cord that was connected to a bell system that informed the tenants that there was someone at the front door. Once that was done, the dark-skinned blonde waited patiently for someone to get the door.

A few seconds went by without much happening, then there was the sound of a wooden bar being removed from its bearings. The door opened inwards slowly, revealing the well-kept gardens and manor of Chiyoko's family. Notwen smiled at the middle aged woman that opened the door. She nodded in acknowledgement of his presence, then motioned for him to follow her. The dark-skinned blonde walked past the heavy wooden doors, staying close to the middle-aged woman as they crossed the gardens. Behind them, two male servants pushed the doors closed and re-barred them.

From the cobbled walkway they walked on in silence until they climbed up a single stone stair. Now on the raised wooden deck of the manor, the lady turned into one of the inner hallways. After a few seconds, they came across a younger servant. He nodded toward the lady that had been escorting Notwen, and she left them, disappearing down a side corridor. The young man turned to face the dark-skinned blonde and gestured toward a sliding door to his left.
"In the changing room there are some ceremonial garments you should probably wear. They've been fitted for you already." He slid the door open to reveal a well-lit changing room. One of the walls was a large mirror, and in the center of the room was a small table with folded clothes on it. Notwen thanked him, stepped inside, and slid the door shut behind himself.

The dark-skinned blonde removed all of his clothes save for his underwear and refreshed himself with a warm, damp washcloth. He removed his head band as well, allowing his bangs to cover the top half of the bulge in his forehead and his hair to hang freely to the base of his neck. After that was done, he donned the elegant kimono that was prepared for him with a slight alteration. He replaced the sash that came with the kimono with his own. It signified his accomplishment and pride in being a taekwondo practitioner. The red band and black swirls signified that he was the highest level on the junior division. When he finished preparing himself, Notwen folded his things in a neat bundle and walked over to the mirror to examine himself.
"Not too shabby, N." he said with a smile. The royal blue and white of the kimono complemented his skin tone and hair nicely. Even his sash, now tied in a bow knot, looked as if it was meant to be worn with the kimono. Notwen paid attention to his torso and noticed that his pendant was behind the folds of his kimono. He gently lifted it and let it fall over the cottony fabric. With a satisfied nod, he put on the slippers that were under the table and left the room.

The servant looked over Notwen, pausing critically at his midsection, but nodded anyway.
"Follow me." He said, and led the the dark-skinned boy through several other hallways and finally to the dining room. He bowed and said, "Lady Chiyoko awaits. Enjoy your stay, Master Notwen." Notwen was about to thank him, but the servant went along his merry way. Shrugging, Notwen entered the dining room. His sights immediately fell on the girl wearing a purple-and-gold kimono that was sitting at the head of the table. Notwen's hazel eyes widened at Chiyoko's beauty, and if his skin tone allowed it, his cheeks would have turned red.
"You look....fine, Chiyoko." he said with a smile he tried hard to conceal. Notwen scratched his head to relieve his slightly awkward entrance.