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Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
Zdura reached out with his left hand to shift the position of Luo's own hand, as with a flick of his right hand a small crystal knife appeared in said hand. He intended to use the new blade to shave any hair off the back of Luo's hand, to be sure of the smoothest working area, but as his thumb ran over the man's skin he found it to be quite smooth already. Evidently Luo was a man not unfamiliar with the art of the manicure. Another odd bit of trivia for his collection..

Setting aside the knife as it turned out to be unneeded, Zdura instead moved the vial of blooded ink into an easier position to work from, positioning all the little bits he needed before picking up the bottle of spirits. Popping the cork, and noting the lack of a rag, he tipped some out such that it would fall on Luo's hand, and rubbed it in with his thumb. Once he was satisfied, he set the bottle aside again, returning the cork to it's rightful place.

Finally taking up the grooved needle, he dipped it in the ink with one hand, while spreading Luo's fingers to create the flattest working space possible. With one last look at the symbol he was to mimic, he moved the needle into position, gently stabbing into a pore near the knuckle of the middle finger. He would start with the ring, as that was a common part of most seals, and thus would need the least fine tuning later. After a few seconds of holing the needle in place, he pulled it back, shifting a bit to the side and repeating the process, which he would continue until the needle ran out of ink, at which point he would dip it again, and repeat.

The process quickly fell into routine as the ring slowly took shape, so Zdura decided to fill the silence, as his attention was barely needed at this stage. "This step is creating the medium for chakra flow. The ink itself does nothing at this stage but create a path. I'll shape the seal workings within the tattoo, and then move on to the priming stage. At that point I inject chakra and guide it through the ink, merging them into the pathways I mentioned earlier. That will complete the seal, at which point it can be used, and I'll fill in any gaps left in the tattoo. It's a bit of an extension on the process, but it makes priming easier to not have the extra ink in the way." he explained, hand now moving automatically as it completed the ring and began the first wing of what he assumed was a stylized whirlpool, just under the knuckle. That would place one just under the knuckles, one aimed at the wrist, and the other two on either side of the hand.
~
[Chakra: 205]

Is it obvious that I actually know nothing about making tattoos yet? I'm just doing what sounds like it'd work. XD

Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
Zdura took a moment before responding, more focused on getting the center of the tattoo correct than formulating a response. The line was incredibly thin at that point, but still there nonetheless, and he needed it intact to form the connection to the man's tenketsu. After a few seconds, and he started working outwards into the next wing, he shook his head in the negative. "I may have skirted the border a few times, but I don't believe I've ever spent any great deal of time in the country. Most of my life, both before and after joining Otogakure was spent in the lesser countries. Those the main villages either didn't care about, or couldn't get to quickly enough. Perhaps one didn't care about the mission, and another was under treaty to stay out of that area. Those were the places I picked up my missions. I spent some time in Fire too, mostly just traveling, but the occasional mission came up even there."

As he finished speaking, the clone also finished his work, the needle leaving Luo's skin as the last wing of the whirlpool took form. There were gaps in the design, just as Zdura had said before, but if one looked closely, the entire design was made up not of shapes, but lines weaving throughout the design, intersecting at some points and completely avoiding each other at others. They could be traced from the outer edges of the ring, to the very center of the whirlpool design, where they came to an end, and would be linked to the man's chakra system when it was primed. "Would you like to prime and test this one now, or start work on the other first? The positioning makes it a bit more complicated than my initial suggestion, since the sword will appear behind your hand rather than in front of it, so you'll likely want a bit of practice before we arrive regardless." the clone stated, setting his needle in the vial of ink as he waited for the response.
~
[Chakra: 305]

Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
Zdura nodded along with Luo's reasoning. It made sense for the most part, and he mentally tacked on the unmentioned fact that Senbon Sakura could easily masquerade as a typical katana in it's sheathe, while the other most certainly would not go unnoticed. He smiled in response to Luo's compliment of the incomplete tattoo, only to blink in surprise as the man stood and headed for the door. "Ah!" he started to call out, too late as the man had already left the room.

Standing to follow, Zdura grabbed the sealing supplies and followed Luo out, catching up only once he found the man on deck, preparing to use the seal. "It won't work yet." he spoke quickly, before the man could attempt to activate, and potentially ruin the seal by flooding it improperly with chakra. "I still need to prime the seal, and construct the chakra pathways. The ink is only a medium for the true seal." he explained, basically repeating what he had said at the start of the process, but attempting to be more clear, unsure if the man had misunderstood or simply thought he had performed that process during the inking.

"If you like, I can do that now." he finished, holding out his hand in a silent request for Luo to offer his own. If and when he did, Zdura took it in his left hand, and laid his right index finger on the center of the seal. "You'll probably feel a tingling sensation moving in your skin while my chakra moves through the seal. I'd like you to follow it with your own chakra, so that I can use a bit of your own in the process. Trying to prime it with just my own when it uses your blood would make a weak connection." he explained, before pushing his chakra into the seal.

Starting at the center, he focused on where he knew from his studies the tenketsu to be, focusing on linking the seal into it, and attaching his chakra to Luo's own, once it was provided. Once he felt the connection was made, he slowly guided his chakra through the lines of the seal, pausing occasionally to wait for Luo's to catch up so that he could tie it into specific areas more thoroughly, before moving on, through first one wing of the seal, and then another until he'd gone through all four, and from the fourth, he entered the ring, where he split his chakra, sending it in two directions around the ring, and meeting at the other end. After tying Luo's chakra tightly into that point, he pulled back, releasing the man's hand and stepping back a single step.

"That should do it. It will work like any other storage seal for you, but do nothing for anyone else. You only need to place whatever you want sealed against the seal, and activate it. Activating it again will, of course, release the object. This particular seal has a max space of one cubic foot, but it will shape itself to whatever you add, so the sword should fit fine." Finished with his short and basic explanation, given more to explain the similarities between this and publicly available seals than to explain how a storage seal worked, he gestured for the man to continue with his original intent, trying out the seal.
~
[Chakra: 305]

Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
Zdura stood back, watching with interest as Luo practiced with the seal. He'd never actually had the opportunity to see a seal used in this way, so he found the entire scene quite enlightening. Luo, for his part, seemed to take to it quite well. The man's reflexes were admirable, to succeed so quickly, though it was simple to see, at least in his own mind, that the man would continue practicing at a later time until he could use the seal much more efficiently. There was more than one way to use that seal after all, little tricks that one with such reflexes could pull off, and he rather looked forward to seeing if Luo would discover them on his own. He didn't seem that well versed in the sealing arts, but one did not become the head of the Ushio, and kage of a village, without an excellent mind, and a good dose of creativity.

Once the man seemed to be done with his practice for now, Zdura nodded, a smile on his face. "I look forward to seeing what you can do with it." he said, voicing his earlier thoughts aloud, even as he pulled the vial of blooded ink from his robe, and held it out for Luo to claim. "As promised, this is yours to keep. There is enough blood and ink left for one more seal of about the same size as that one. I can make you another seal with it, or you can destroy the ink. Or just keep it if you like. Your choice. You can keep the vial regardless though. It's made of crystal, and is much stronger than glass." He didn't know what the man could, or would, use the vial for, but he didn't need it himself, and the small gift could well help towards endearing himself to the kage a bit, which was always a good endeavor.
~
[Chakra: 300]

Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
Zdura admired the sunset just as Luo did. Even in Kariko, atop the mountains of Rice, the still had the higher mountains nearby, and thick forests to block the sky. They certainly had a better view than Kiri had, but nothing like this. With nothing to block the horizon, it was as if he was watching the sun sink into the ocean itself, absorbed by the waves until it's fire was put out. It was easy to see why sailors were superstitious folk, with sights like that every day. He made sure to commit the event strongly to his memory. Yasashii would love a copy of that sight.

Even as Luo went below for food, Zdura stayed on deck, simply watching the waves. He knew full well Luo didn't need his protection, and it was evident by their behavior that all the men on this boat were familiar with him, and him with them. Luo likely had them watching him, even as his mission was supposedly, at this stage, to watch them. And besides, he had no use for the food. As he'd discovered early on in his new life, he didn't need sustenance. His body permanently held the form it was created in, with no need for food or drink. Eating could in fact be dangerous, as he didn't seem to have a complete digestive system. He could take food in, but getting it out again took some more creative tactics than he liked. The build up of food in his system would slow him down, and if it wasn't relieved, well, he wasn't sure exactly what it could do, so he chose to not let it get that far.

So, there he stayed, enjoying the cooling sea air and listening to the sounds only happy sailors could make as they moved about the ship, celebrating whatever it was that made them so bloody happy all the time. Grown men singing and dancing about a ship with mugs of whatever alcoholic beverage they preferred. Back in his bar that rarely happened, and soon turned into a fist fight as the drunk men eventually found something to disagree about, at which point he and Brutus sent them out the door, some a bit more forcefully than others. But on a ship such as this? The sailors weren't even drunk when they started in on it, probably never got to the point of true drunkenness even, as they would be back to work in a short time. Anywhere else in the world he had to assume grown men would be embarrassed by such actions, but on a ship it was perfectly normal. Bizarre, really.

Abandoning his thoughts after awhile, Zdura left the railing and headed below, having lost track of the sounds indicating Luo's presence. As he entered the common room though, the kage walked in as well from a different direction, obviously dressed for sleep. A fact which was confirmed a moment later as Luo said it outright, before heading into his bedroom. As sleep was another luxury Zdura no longer required, he simply sat down at the table and pulled out his journal. He still had much to write in it before it was anywhere near the quality of Yasashii's own, and had plenty of time to write it in. So, as the ship quieted, sailors going to their quarters for sleep, Zdura remained, writing in his book by the light of a single candle he'd found nearby, as all the other lights were put out. This served a dual purpose. Giving him something to do with the extra hours in the day he now had, and, if anyone asked, keeping watch over Luo's chambers while the man was vulnerable in sleep.
~
[Chakra: 300]

Apparently my filler turned a bit odd, at least in comparison to your own for this round.

Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
As Luo passed him to begin his morning rituals, Zdura looked up from his work, honestly surprised as he glanced out a nearby porthole to find the sun was up. Another glance round the table revealed that his candle had long since gone out, melted to a mere puddle on the table. Sighing at the realization that he had once more spent all night working without even realizing it, the clone snapped his notes closed and returned the materials to his robes. Scraping up the long dried wax from the table, he mashed it into a clump and returned it to the drawer he'd found it in. He'd seen some spare wicks when he got the candle, and so assumed that whoever maintained the ship reused the wax. If he'd known where to find their melting pot he'd have done it himself, having done so a fair number of times himself, for the exact reason he'd run the candle out now. Yasashii had spent many a night awake in his study, only ceasing his work when his candle died or Brutus called for him to come to work. Learning to reuse the wax was a necessary skill, or all his income would have gone out in candles.

Wondering where Luo had gone, as the man had yet to return for his morning meal, Zdura made his way to the deck, quickly spotting the man meditating at the front of the ship. Nodding in understanding, Zdura chose not to interrupt the man and instead climbed upwards, finding his way to the top of the mast and sitting atop it, merely looking out at the world. Meditation was an art the man had rarely partaken of. It was intended to clear the mind and improve focus, which was excellent for most. But Yasashii had always found that his mind worked at it's best when cluttered. Ideas came in from every angle, mixing and mashing together as they fought for dominance, and eventually becoming something unique and wonderful. He didn't like to disrupt that unless he had an incredible need to focus on something, and only allowed himself to pursue meditation when preparing for a difficult mission that required his complete focus.

As he watched, Luo ceased his meditations, disrupted evidently by the increasing activity on deck, and instead began exercises. Still, Zdura simply watched. There was not point to joining in, even if he was certain he'd be welcome, which he was not. His body was in a permanent state. Nothing he could do short of adding or removing seals could alter it for better or worse. If he expected to be welcome, or was asked, he would gladly join in, but for now he simply observed, taking note of Luo's routine. Such information could well come in handy eventually. A disruption in routine, for instance, could often be a signal of trouble with more experienced shinobi. Learning the man's routines now could help him in future, if he needed to protect the man, or if he needed to flee him.

As Luo finished his workout and returned below deck, Zdura still stayed. As long as he was awake there was little chance he would need protection, and he would likely be returning soon anyways. Besides, most of the crew was on deck now anyways, and the view really was fascinating, as Zdura let himself be captivated by the sights and sounds. Such a peaceful world. He only hoped it remained that way for the rest of their trip.
~
[Chakra: 300]

Zdura
Rogue | Crystal | Jounin
Support { Sealing } Combo
~
Zdura watched with interest as Luo began to practice on deck once more. The man was quickly becoming accustomed to using the seal it seemed, as he rapidly discovered several ways to use it in combat. All were related to drawing the weapon for normal use of course, but he was sure the man would begin to recognize further potential soon enough. He considered going down to the deck to share some of his own ideas, but quickly decided against it, believing the man would rather learn for himself, not to mention being rather interested in seeing how long those discoveries took.

His choice to simply observe netted him an extra bonus soon enough, as when he finished with his practice, Luo displayed some of his skill with the senbon, surprising Zdura as the man threw them into the water, only for them to return moments later bearing fish. He'd never heard of someone using normal weapons in that way outside of weapon based bloodlines and clans.

He returned Luo's nod as the man left the deck, mind still racing trying to understand the feat he'd just witnessed. Could the man be a puppeteer perhaps? Shin, back in Kariko had done similar tricks using his threads, but those required guiding hand motions, and to control so many at once was, at least theoretically, impossible.

Shaking his head as the sun indicated late afternoon quickly approaching, Zdura abandoned the mystery. Things such as that were doubtless why Luo was revered for his mastery of the needle like weapons.

Realizing that he'd spent the majority of the day now sitting in one spot, Zdura stood, and jumped. In a rare display of his left over skills as a circus acrobat, he proceeded to make his way to the deck, swinging between ropes, rigging, and the masts themselves, never remaining in contact with a single point for longer than half a second. Landing on the deck with a flourish, he stood fully and walked away, headed below just as Luo had, satisfied that some degree of routine was forming for the trip.

[Exit to Lightning Country]
~
[Chakra: 300]