Baranara had found himself some rocks, rounded and pebble like. Although they were caked in mud. He seemed uncertain at first and with that uncertainty causing him to delay he'd turn head to see Hesrick. To say anything short of finding his behavior amusing would be an understatement. But at the same time hushing a chuckle so not to agitate a delicate matter Baranara knew quite well what he was doing. But more importantly had he always had that leg of meat. "Take the meat you dense fool! This man is not to be trusted! Holding out on you delicious tender morsels!"
Baranara would hear the whispers of the unknown. He'd reach into his own sack of where he believed to have heard it. He would match eyes then with the pineapple in his palm...well if pineapples had eyes. Suspiciously, he shook his head. It mus have been his conscious. What else could it have been...and if this was the case was it right? Was he right to doubt Oregano..er Olagor? Having had food this entire time and not offering to share...then again Baranara to found food in these estranged barrels...HOLD ON BARANARA HADN'T THE CHANCE TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION YET!
Yes...pieces of a puzzle to a issue of trust began to fall into place as the man scratched his peach fuzz upon his chin. BUT WAIT! The stance and movements and the obvious notion that Oregano was indeed trying to bait the beast for a hunters kill was clear. Perhaps Oregano did not share the knowledge of the consumables in his possession solely because he knew it would not be enough to feed the lot of them...and now sacrificing the last of his supply to survive he was willing to risk his very life to slay a beast that could feed them all. Holding a fist to his chest Baranara watched silently towards Hesrick and then wiped away a tear. Baranara knows now..a true man is what was before him.
The creature shrieked at Hesrik, the red mane along its back quivering slightly and its wings extending to their full width, which must have been at least twenty feet across. It shifted its stance, widening its legs, before leaping from its perch. Despite its size, it landed almost silently on the ground before Hesrik, Baranara, and the shank of meat. A hiss accompanied a forked tongue from its mouth, and it growled from somewhere in its chest, gaze--revealed to be a similar red to its mane--flitted between the two men, watching them carefully.
After a moment, however, the creature took the bait. Leaning down, it picked up the haunch in its jaws and, with a final hiss, retreated several paces before tearing into the meat.
That's the instant that things went terribly wrong for the poor creature. As it swallowed, it was overcome with an immense pressure, its weight multiplying by twenty times as the mashed potatoes took effect. It collapsed almost immediately, unable to fight the weight, trying to wretch out the food in vain. The effect left it unable to even lift its head, although it still thrashed slightly with extended claws and wings. However, unless one of them decided to be kind to it, it was left to its terrible fate.
【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tabThe creature fell, the ground quaking as its sheer weight kept it pressed to the earth despite its frantic attempted to resist one of the universe's fundamental laws. It fought, flexing what it could, and yet still it remained. Silence, outside of its frenzied movements and the wind, fell upon the pathetic sight before the former Mizukage. At first there was no response, no movement from where Hesrik lay prostrated, no reaction except for the stirring of his robes and hair as the storm blew closer, the first gusts beginning to caress the forested landscape. tab A whisper spilled from between his teeth, somewhere between a rasp and an exhalation of surprise. tab The noise rasped higher as his body shook, the clasps holding his armor falling free from where it had been unfastened. Released from his grip the cloth fell back to his sides as the grey figure rose to one foot, then another, his chest exposed to open air for the first time in what surely had been centuries. Black lines, no thicker than that's of a spider's web, unraveled from within him as he took first one step, and then another, towards the fallen beast. Each was deliberate, each bringing more of the things outside of him, through the torn and rent hole that had long since blacked at the edges where the parasite had entered into his very being. They slid together, layering, becoming thicker and stronger with each breath and beat of his heart, until their lengths became thicker than cables. It wasn't until he was at the creature that the rasping became something...more, for it was not him that held such mirth. tab With a scream each of the thick cables shivered, and from their lengths sprouted hundreds of insect legs, each wriggling at the air as mouth slathered open from their tips. Black and jagged, they were meant for tearing and ripping through flesh, and, apparently, for glee. They cackled like madmen with more tones than would be possible for a single man, tones of all genders, ages, and species. Continuing their best impressions of hyenas while Hesrik reached the beast, they spread out and extended long, green tongues to taste the air, lapping at it as a man too long parched. Baranara wouldn't know, couldn't know, what it is they feasted upon. These parasites were of a strange variety, unlike anything he'd ever heard of. Suckling upon the pain, misery, and torment of others, they were sustained by ephemeral misery that others experienced, and gluttoned themselves upon that which they sewed. The creature's fear, the instincts it bore to protect its young, the way it fought fed their hunger as Hesrik raised one booted foot and placed it upon the creatures side. With a heavy, and a twist, he mounted the beast with that same wheezing laugh dogging his every step. tab Whining, deep within the beast's throat, sent shivers up his spin as the parasite murmured their approval. Death came for it, and it knew. Too bad this creature did not know, could not understand what he longed to whisper to it, to say to it. Worse, there was no audience, no one to impart a clear message to with this offered sacrifice from Her grace. Only a lonely savage, one who understand Fate's wiles in ways different than his own. It would seem that today, this beast would die to feed Hesrik's return, though only in the most basic of ways. tab Leaning forward, down toward's the beast cranium, his voice came out in a hiss. "You will not understand this, but I thank you for your sacrifice." tab Voice lowered as he stilled, the former shinobi began to chant, his words, a strange mix cadence rising and lowering in a tongue unlike anything Baranara would have heard. Bringing his right hand forward, palm up, arm extended down at an angle towards the creature's neck, a final word was spoken before he brought it up in a fist in a pose of victory. tab The earth moved at his command, and with a sickening crunch, the earth came up in a wall and snapped the creature's head up at a sharp angle, breaking the neck and causing the whine to cease instantly. tab At the final guttering audio Hesrik closed his eyes, and felt something within him, something lost, memories...returning. Slowly rising, his arms moving to his sides, cast wide, the former shinobi threw his head back in exultation, an expression only half hidden by his mask revealing the joy he felt. The tendrils keened, their mouths unleashing a cacophony of noise so discordant beasts of the natural world would likely flee from perceiving it alone. tab Former shinobi? No, not anymore. No. He knew, without a doubt, the truth, even as he spoke the words. Words, he felt, that fit the scenario in which he found himself. No, not a former shinobi. A Shinobi once more. tab"It has begun."
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Current Objectives: ✤ Discover where I am, and what year it is. How long have we slept?
Items of Note: ✤ Proficiency Training from E - C with Tendrils, requiring 10 posts to accomplish. Seven of these posts were utilized for the same post requirement to escape the location as well.
Neryem
NecroPlant
[ e x p ] 0000 x|x [ r y o ] 0000 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 115 / 115 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 100 / 100
[ m o o d ] Exultant x|x [ h e a l t h ] Weakened x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] None x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Established
Hesrik's plan went off without a hitch. The helpless creature's neck snapped, though the weight of it's head made the wall crumble. Thankfully, it was killed instantly. However, as its breath left its body, and as its heart beat one final time, it vanished in a puff of smoke. Likely, much to Hesrik's dismay. In its place was left a pile of items, almost like a loot pile from a video game. Within the pile, once searched, were the following items:
• Scroll - Maruton [Ninjutsu] - Gama Daira Kage Ayatsuri no Jutsu [ B ], Ranji Shigumi no Jutsu [ B ], Kumonendo [ B ] • Scroll - Shintou Musou-ryuu [Bukijutsu] - Stage One - Throw [X:Simple] • Scroll - Seiton [Bloodline] - Shiage [A] • Half-helm - Made of a durable but light metal. D-rank Defense, Scale [20]. • Bardiche - Made of bone, but is as hard as steel. Durability [25]. • Sai - Occasional sparks dance across its surface. For a cost of [5] chakra, E-rank Raiton can be added to an attack. Durability [35]. • [3] pouches of Oiled Feathers - Shiny black feathers from a Black Griffin. Feathers are water repellant. Liquid just slides off of them. • Box with a socket wrench, missing most of the sizes. • [361] Ryo.
Baranara, in short, was uncomfortable. He had seen many things in his lifetime, albeit much of it forgotten, but he was certain he had never seen anything the like of Oregano before...and this notion that formed, it swelled the pit of his stomach it was more than unsettling, as the parasite awoke from Hesrick it felt as though Baranara carried one of his own. Had he made a deal with a devil in disguise? The clamoring cackles were those akin to the insane and the image of the 'Other Oregano's' with their multitude of maws, shark like teeth, and unnatural shades of tongue sporting legs of malformed arachnid did little to put the man at ease as to what exactly it was he was traveling with.
Baranara a mixture of both confusion and perhaps a fear only produced by the unknown caused him to take steps back. Oregano thanked the beast for its sacrifice but at the same time when it was slain he made an utterance drenched is obscurity. As much as he would like to approach a bead of sweat formed as the partially frighfused expression became a stagnant one with eyes shut and arms folded.
Baranara would retreat into the cavern he'd found that bore signs of former habitation. Casks not unlike the ones earlier, several molded their contents a mystery. Perhaps somewhere amidst these objects he'd find something of a flint and tinder. If so he'd start a fire. The foreboding dark skies from earlier, the signs of rain soon to come, did little to settle his unease about what he had witnessed. While the mother was dead he'd hoped that Oregano had made the deaths of its kin swift as well and that perhaps they would become a nights supper. Well, assuming he was not to become supper. The level of comfort around his fellow man, despite their desperate situation, had dampened. (Sorry 5 l8 post)
【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tabExultation! tab Many lifetimes had passed since the last time Hesrik had felt such emotion coursing through him. Always before, victory had been common, or in defeat always was there a so-called 'bright side' that always meant that Fate smiled upon him. Never before had he felt so vindicated, so Favored, as he did in that moment as his chakra welled within him, as the life essence of his existence, the knowledge of what it took for him to regain his former glory, returned. With it came no former technique knowledge, however, nor data upon the caches he had left throughout the world before his greatest failure. Instead darkness remained, yet even this would not bring him down. Nothing could. tab Until the creature vanished from beneath him in a puff of moisture and gas, spilling him into the mud below. tab Sputtering to remove the taste of the gas from his mouth the former Mizukage stared at the pile of loot at his feet. 'A game,' mused a voice in the back of his mind, the part of him still rational despite the shock. 'Something is toying with me.' Was it perhaps Fate punishing him for his momentary weakness, believing himself beyond his station? Was it perhaps a dream, despite the hunger coursing through him from his parasite? tab Whatever the reason it stoked his ire, and were it not for the control he had to wring from the parasite that sustained him he would have succumbed to rage. Eyes casting about the newly-made Shinobi grew thankful for Baranara's apparent instinct to flee, for if the man had remained heartless would be currently be. Still the creatures within him wailed, for those the suffering of the beast had whet their appetite the main course had vanished before they could dine. tab'Silence!'roared his mind, railing against the cacophony of noise caused by their defiant uproar. Instantly the noise ceased, for few times had he taken such a sharp and decisive tone with them. Few times had Hesrik ever truly needed to. 'I understand your fury, but it serves little. This world is new, as I said. If we are to survive we must take things carefully. If you are always fighting for control I will be unable to concentrate, to think, to plan. Without those three your hunger will kill you. Be patient.' They were doomed without more hearts, but for now his vitality sustained them alone. Patience, indeed, would be needed for them to survive, to flourish. Patience, and discipline. tab Rising from the mud, taking into account the loot before him, Hesrik's eyes alighted upon a backpack, and a large one at that. Some things already lay within it but the rest? Scattered about in a pile. With care he extended his tendrils who sniffed at them, testing them, only to move forward and begin placing everything within its limited confines. As they did, another formed from several hundred strands and reached for the breastplate he normally wore, retrieving it as its brothers finished their work. The rest retreated, sliding back into his chest cavity through the rent there before the plate was re-secured and, for all intent and purposes, Hesrik looked himself once again. Sighing, the frustration creeping into his mind along with the exhaustion, the former Mist shinobi took the bag with his weakened arms and dragged it towards where, he assumed, Baranara had gone: a cave. tab Reaching the lit interior took some maneuvering yet it came not a moment too late as rain cascaded from above, pelting the stone above their heads and the mud that lay around. Casting the backpack towards one of the crates he carefully sat down across from the savage, whose expression seemed...haunted.'I doubt he has seen any of my ilk before,' he pondered, thinking to how few had shown themselves to him over the centuries. 'I imagine I rather unsettled him.' Not that he worried for Baranara's reaction, for it fear was as good a tool as any other, but traveling would be difficult if they were to be unable to work together. Gesturing to the fire before him, gaze reflecting the flames in their clouded depths, Hesrik spoke aloud for the first time since slaying the beast outside. "I do not know if my word matters, but I will not harm you. If you have questions, or concerns, best to voice them now."
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Techniques Used: ✤
Current Objectives: ✤ Discover where I am, and what year it is. How long have we slept?
Items of Note: ✤
Neryem
NecroPlant
[ e x p ] 0000 x|x [ r y o ] 0000 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 350 / 350 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 125 / 125
[ m o o d ]Exhausted x|x [ h e a l t h ] Weakened x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] None x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Established
He'd have found comfort sitting atop a small crate, Baranara would toss another chunk of wood into the fire signified with a snap. For the moment it seemed Hesrick's words fell on deaf ears. The musty scent permeating through the air from its age. The mud caked onto the tribal man having been warmed by the fire had become dry forming a second layer of 'insulation' albeit he looked nothing else aside from primitive. The two individuals juxtaposing one another a caveman and a wizard..or perhaps even a demon. Then there was the girl who remained ever silent being strung along by both of them. Although he could not blame her, the company she was with would no doubt have made anyone restless. Albeit Baranara didn't see his fault in the situation.
Then when all communication seemed lost the fire cracked again with another snap. Baranara rose his head to meet Hesricks gaze after a exhale from his nostrils, a sign he did not wish to conversate but was forcing himself to out of necessity. "First, Baranara not know what you are. He think first Oligor was human, but what he see, he not seen in any human before." Baranara stood seeing as it seemed Hesrick hadn't or had yet to kill the kin of the creature he began to dig through other dilapidated supplies searching for traces of something consumable as he spoke. If this failed he'd turn to seeking out flora that seemed edible.
"First question, is Oligor Human, if no, then what he." The tone of voice had suspicion but in truth the suspicion was out of a instinctual need for survival. Three heads is better than two and Baranara would prefer to keep it at three. However, if the third head was actually just a huge mouth of a beast it may be best he venture alone if not bring the girl with him. "Question two, what was thing inside Oligor, is alive? If yes, can be trust it not harm me or harm girl?" If successful in his findings he'd proceed to cook whatever was found by attaching it to some form of stick and roast.
{Roll 1 for Foraging Identification: +1 Modifier} {Roll 2 for Herbology Identification: +5 Modifier}
【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tabWatching silently as Baranara discovered what looked to be aged meat of some sort, salted and jerked for sustained storage Hesrik considered his options. As he'd previously considered silence would likely have an ill effect here, what with Baranara's simplistic understanding of the world and rather blunt methodology of dealing with others. To maintain a lie would merely hamper their survival odds, for despite what he might appear to be Hesrik was by no means a savage monster. Whether or not Baranara and the girl believed him to be was of no consequence on a personal level but to believe a companion little more than a danger the two would likely find their paths diverging from his own well before he would have such an occurrence take place. In short, he needed to come clean. Or, rather, as clean as necessity required, as knowledge, especially in his own case, was power. tab He would risk his freedom for no one, no matter how innocent. tab Watching the savage add the meat to the skewer he considered the best line of approach for his answers, his eyes settling within the depths of the fires before him. Hands steepled, hiding his expression and his posture one of seeming unconcerned arrogance, Hesrik finally spoke, his words a whisper that took full advantage of the rain beyond and the passionate, snapping tongues that warmed them. "I would say that I am Oragor, and no more, but such would be little more than a convenient, and obvious, lie," he observed quietly, his gaze intense as the entities within him turned their attention to the other. "Your concern does you credit, both with its consideration of other company and in the face of the reality we now find ourselves in, Baranara. And so I will divulge to you secrets that could well put my life, and my cause, in danger. I would suggest you not spread this to anyone else." Whether or not the fact he continued to watch the flames instead of meet his companion's eyes worried him was of no concern at the moment. tab Fingers twisting upon each other, rubbing the backs of each thumb in turn, the former Mizukage found himself seeing shapes within the flames. Little creatures that cackled and laughed, things with mouths where faces should have been, with fingers long and thin. 'Real, or imagined,' he mused, not too concerned with which it might be. "I am what Shinobi once called Jiongu, a clan, of sorts, birthed from forbidden and powerful jutsu that normally replaces our insides with tendrils of varying materials. I found myself in a similar situation, but my tendrils have a sapience. To answer your question, yes, they are alive. They are aware, and they feed on pain and misery as you would meat and drink." Gaze rising to meet Baranara's, gauging within their depths the reaction to his statements, Hesrik continued. "Once, I was human. Now, I am something...else. I still bear the mind, heart and spirit of a man, but my body? No more." Raising one finger before him, almost as if just now coming to a new thought, the former leader of men finished up his little speech in one, final portion. "As to whether I am a danger, well...that would depend on you. I have use for you, and for the girl. I have use for many in creation. I seek to return Kirigakure no Sato to its glory, or, in the chance it has fallen, establish a new base of operations and return civilizations to this world. I wish to bring others who are awakening from their long slumber into the fold, into safety and security that can only be established with numbers, and in the fair spirit of such desires share knowledge freely with those who share our fires. If you or the girl wish to be a part of this you will be safe and sound from me and mine until you act against us. If you choose to leave me, so be it, but your protection from me would last twenty four hours, after which time my options become more...open." tab Taking a deep breath, inhaling slowly to hide that he was doing so, Hesrik never broke his contact with Baranara's eyes, for doing so would mean surrendering his point to weakness. Hunting them would service him as well as having them with him, though in very different ways. Best to know the lay of the land now than pretend the status quo was equal and act against each other later.
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Techniques Used: ✤
Current Objectives: ✤ Discover where I am, and what year it is. How long have we slept?
Items of Note: ✤
Neryem
NecroPlant
[ e x p ] 0000 x|x [ r y o ] 0000 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 350 / 350 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 125 / 125
[ m o o d ]Exhausted x|x [ h e a l t h ] Weakened x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] None x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Established
"Mmmmhrm." An audible sound of dissatisfaction. Baranara's eye's remained stagnant locked in on Hesrick's for the duration of his explanation. Blinks were few and in between. His honesty whilst appreciated came at the price of Baranara discovering more that he did not like. The creature inside Oregano fed on pain and misery. As if its repulsiveness and violent like nature wasn't bad enough. Returning the land to its former glory, the way Oregano spoke this credence, the words he decided to choose. It did not take a genius to read into them and come to a conclusion they were like those of a tyrant who leads with power as oppose to a leader that leads with kindness. In Short Baranara came to have an epiphany. Oregeno's final words being in layman terms 'You are either with me or against me.'
But that is not what struck a sour note with Baranara the most. What struck him as the most inhumane thing was Oregano's statement that essentially the only reason he was not a danger and more so the only reason him and the girl were alive is because he felt they were a 'use' to him. It was was dehumanizing, albeit Baranara didn't know it in that sense. He knew it in there was a difference in treating your tribesman as pawns and tools as oppose to comrades in arms and family...and for the most part despite their short time together Baranara believed the duo to be more than just 'of use' but dare he say friends during worlds end.
Baranara's eyes shifted back to his scavenged cuisine. Providing one to the girl and taking a bite out of the other he called his own in a manner akin to a carnivore who was both territorial and starved. Despite all the things Oregano said being a bitter pill to swallow, it was still a pill that was necessary to survive. Had there been someone else he could entrust his and the girls survival to he would. Had he not somewhat of a parental bond towards the girl he'd have likely taken his chances and taken Oregano's offer to leave with the threat of his possible pursuit.
Still this moment of respite and prevention of making a hasty decision due to paternal instinct made him open to attempting to understand more. The conclusions that were being made could be seen as perhaps to hasty. Although they continued to stew in the back of his head. Baranara would delay in giving Hesrick his answer, should he choose to sit the tribesman would first assure that meals were finished before he spoke again after a small belch cutting the tension, only to have the hardness of his voice being in back again.
"You said ORAGOR," making certain of the pronunciation "was once human. Did Oragor decide himself that he no longer desire to be human? If yes, why did you choose to have such terrible thing, AND also if yes, did Oragor know that thing was so terrible when he make that choice?"
【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tabIgnoring the food that had been so carefully provided Hesrik opted instead to watch the man before him who so carefully concealed his feelings behind a mask of determination. Of all things that Baranara could have done it was this that garnered the most respect. To act through emotion without careful consideration was the height of hubris. Better to think, to consider the situation and the options, or lack thereof, presented to make the best decision possible. Just how much thought or reason went into Baranara's meanderings would matter little to the former Mizukage in the end. The level of intelligence, from savage to scholar, meant little if in application one is hasty. And so the monster in the room watched his prospective prey, considering instead the best course of action should Baranara choose to leave here. Twenty four hours was a long period, after all, and given the supplies they had received there was no true way of knowing what sort of knowledge or power he would gain. tab Yet still, his word was his bond, and Hesrik would uphold it no matter the foolishness or lack thereof it proved to be. tab When Baranara deigned to speak again Hesrik was once more forced to hastily reassess the savage, for his question showed that he understood the inherent meanings behind the older's words. Not for the first time that morning he wondered at the choice of name he had provided. It was a name from long ago, one he hadn't used in hundreds of years. It wasn't exactly at the tip of his tongue. Mayhap he felt something for the stranger, a kinship not immediately recognized from the surface. If that was the case it would mean he could be dangerous...but also useful in more ways than he first assumed. So it was that while a few heartbeats passed between the end of Baranara's words and Hesrik's began he would respond without a hint of awkwardness, nor surprise. "I find myself wondering just how much to tell you, Baranara," came the first cautious reply, his tone and gaze considerate. "I could tell you falsehoods or mistruths and you would never truly know the difference, where the line was drawn in the sand. Yet in this new world you and the girl serve as my primary means of survival, whether through skills or through that which beats in your chest. I cannot in good conscience say just how much truth I should invest in you, then." tab Gaze continuing to rest on the other male, Hesrik finally sighed and looked away, seemingly in defeat. A calculated approach that could grant trust to the words that follow, but also a hint of doubt. Perhaps the words would be taken for the truth they were, but the doubt...the doubt would still be there. "I may be wrong, but you have a simpler understanding of the world than I. I will not fault you that, and I only say as such to explain that the following isn't quite as black and white as I might make it seem. Yes, you caught the line well. I was once human, before a powerful Fade tore me asunder and planted this parasite within me. You ask if I had a choice, and to that I offer a question. What choice is there when the only options are an unknown, and death? Did I know the creature within me slavered for the taste of sweet despair? Did I know if the parasite within me thirsted for that which damns mankind? No, Baranara. I did not. Yet I, as Man always has, learned to adapt and control my circumstances. They are mine to control, and mine alone." tab Tasting the scent of smoke from the fire, and the cinder of flame that burst forth, Hesrik continued with gaze turned to the flames, their passion reflected in the mirrored depths of his eyes. "I can tell you have distaste for my existence, and well do I understand that. Yet consider, Baranara. Is that which hunts deer evil? When a lion devours the young of a mate's former litter, is that a show of cruelty? I would argue that you cannot ascribe such human behavior to forces that simply cannot comprehend it. My parasite only devours what it can consume, nothing more. But I? My methods are different than your's, that much is certain, but in this new world there is little sign of just what sort of approach would be best served here. And so I ask, Baranara, how you would temper the possibilities I might sew?"
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Techniques Used: ✤
Current Objectives: ✤ Discover where I am, and what year it is. How long have we slept?
Items of Note: ✤
Neryem
NecroPlant
[ e x p ] 0000 x|x [ r y o ] 0000 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 350 / 350 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 125 / 125
[ m o o d ]Exhausted x|x [ h e a l t h ] Weakened x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] None x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Established
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:12 am
_______________The Narrator Whispers... ||
The longer the pair spoke, the more likely they would realize that their voices were echoing further into the cavern. And quite a ways, at that. Should one of them investigate, they would find a faint glow emerging from a somewhat narrow crevice at the rear of the cave, which seemed to lead further on into the unknown. Upon further inspection, if they chose, they would discover the faint glow came from moss, which cast a blue-green light on a tunnel leading away from their safe space.
Meanwhile, the rain outside had escalated into a full-blown storm, lightning occasionally illuminating the forest beyond the cave in the steadily fading light of the day. Perhaps it would be better to either stay where they were or explore further in, though what might lay beyond was a mystery.
You float in darkness for what seems like an eternity, but at the same time, no time at all. Everything is still, silent, and yet, somehow comforting and warm, as if you were wrapped in the arms of the person closest to you. Above all, it was safe. However, as time passed, you found you could remember who you were in vivid detail, at though you were reliving that life. Those memories seemed to be guided by a disembodied voice that even now faded from your memory. Then all was still once more.
At some point, a mighty crack filled the air, as if a bolt of lightning had struck nearby, and a line of light marred the darkness before you. You barely had time to register the light before it spiderwebbed outward, and the protective void around you shattered altogether. Legs weak, unable to support you, you would likely collapse to your knees in the pile of crystal that now surrounded you.
A cold, torrential rain fell about you, soaking you to the bone in a matter of moments while you tried to catch your bearings. But then your energy returned in bounds, as if you wouldn't need to sleep for a week. Should you stand and look around, you would first find a bag beside your person, as well as enough crystal shards to cover a human body in a thick layer of it. Beyond that, a forest could be seen through the haze, a cliff uncomfortably close to your other side, and a cave peeking from a pile of rocks before you. Regardless of where you chose to go, it would likely be best to get out of the rain.
[Note for Lan: Unfortunately the rain is too heavy to sense much of any of this occurring.]
Lanfaer
Mongooseh
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 10:58 am
Bracing himself against the cliff wall, Vidar found his strength and struggled to his feet. Pressing his back against the cliff Vidar coughed and spluttered as he took in his surroundings the new environment an alien shock on his senses.
Vidar looked around noting his surroundings, hazy forest, cave in front and... Touching the wall with a gloved hand ...the cliff. Then a cold sensation swept over his body as anxiety flooded him as he came to the realisation.
'Where am I?' Vidar thought to himself silently as the cold dread washed over him freezing Vidar in place. 'I don't know where I am... whereamIwhereamIwhereamI...'
A few moments passed as Vidar looked around in terror trying to find something, anything that would secure where he was in the world. Eventually Vidar reached and grasped the trench knife by his side, the cold wet metal that fit his hand perfectly serving as a solid anchor in reality calmed Vidar's nerves slightly. Vidar had reduced himself from panicked to tense at the very least as survival instincts started to take over.
Staying out in the rain was a very good way to die by of a bit too cold, Vidar needed to get out of it and soon. He carefully reached down and checked his pack, he didn't recognise it nor the gear inside but it was all useful. Donning the backpack he headed for the first immediate sign of shelter, the cave.
Stopping a few meters outside the cave Vidar didn't have a lot of chakra to spare but in an unknown environment it paid to be careful. Kneeling down, peeling one glove off carefully revealing the burn scarred hands. With a few hand signs and an incantation Vidar activated his Earth Tremor Sense jutsu trying to judge whether the cave was occupied.
Vidar after a beat could sense... one, no, two people inside the cave. He paused for a moment running the concern of friend or foe through his head. Ultimately risk/reward calculations came out in favour of approaching the two.
Walking up to the caves entrance and standing just inside so he was finally out of the rain Vidar knocked the knuckles part of his trench knife against the wall and asked out loud for whoever was inside,
"May I come in?"
I feel like my posts might be a bit sparse compared to everyone else's sweatdrop Chakra: 80/100 Stamina: 100/100 XPconfused
【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tabSilence, it seemed, would be the answer Hesrik received in reply to his question. Odd, unexpected, but something that gave the shinobi pause before judging the savage too harshly. Indeed, the reality that he was taking his time to think about it forced Hesrik to reevaluate the original, harsh assumptions he had made about the "banana man" that had accompanied him the short time since their release from their crystal bonds. It wasn't that Hesrik could fault him for remaining silent, either. Turning his gaze back to the flames, the former Mizukage considered what had passed so far and, more importantly, what it could mean. To share his history so soon wouldn't mean much if it hadn't been the absolute truth, yet Baranara's questions had proven to be far too in depth for him to truly ignore. It had stung him in ways he'd assumed couldn't be done, and it went on to prove that as much as he desired to believe otherwise, Hesrik simply wasn't as foolproof as he'd assumed. Was it perhaps residual effects from the long dormancy? tab 'Perhaps,'came the immediate whisper from somewhere within him. tab Ignoring that particular voice he turned his attention to the satchel and backpack that had been recovered from the felled monstrosity outside and began to rifle through it. Strange, that these objects continued to appear despite never leaving his sight for a moment. Strange, too, that a monster would explode into physical objects instead of maintaining a corporeal, living form. 'Almost like one of those video games,' he mused, picking up a bundle of scrolls that had appeared within. Opening them his eyebrows rise, though more in questioning than any sort of shock. Of all the scrolls to be received it was the element least associated with his current heart. Still, it would suffice for later, once he garnered more hearts and, with them, restore the vitality the parasite stole from him with each beat of his corrupted heart. tab Stowing them for the moment he retrieved the journal he had purchased shortly before his 'death' what was, he suspected, centuries ago. The leather binding was smooth to his fingertips, a sign of the freshness it held within, the pages yet unmarred by the spidery and cramped handwriting he utilized. Just touching it returned him to the decades he'd spent in dusty and moldy libraries, carefully perusing their pages and plumbing their depths for the knowledge his predecessor had attained. Not for the first time the simmering anger boiled up from his depths at the loss of knowledge the so-called "lonely island" has represented, what the legends described as the single greatest archive of eldritch knowledge that had ever been compiled. Such a treasure was to be protected, and it had been, until it, and the Mizukage at the time, vanished under inexplicably mysterious circumstances. Tracing the symbol burned into the leather cover, the stylized planet with nine stars arranged above, the anger simmered once more, warming him as the fire simply couldn't. tab Shaking himself free of that old anger, Hesrik opened the tome and gazed at the hand-pressed parchment within, running one finger down its textured surface with longing. Longing to fill it with the knowledge the scrolls discovered offered to him. Yet such a moment would come to an end as something outside muted the sound of the cascade outside. It would seem that the gods themselves were furious at his trick earlier, and were now seeking to simply bury him under water. 'Too bad for them, given I do not breathe,' he mused, a small chuckle whispered under his breath. Still, something had dared the weather to come to their temporary shelter, and he would not be so rude as to leave them there without a greeting at the least. tab'Can't turn away dinner, can we?'came the whisper again, this time with a devious chortle to chase it. tab Passing the journal underneath his breastplate and to the waiting tendrils within Hesrik rose to his full height and stepped towards the entrance before raising his voice over the din outside. "Yes, yes, come in lest the gods mistake your lack of movement for indolence and retaliate needlessly!" Jovial, old, and with a lexicon to fit the wizened guise he now donned for the occasion. Not old and stupid, as he had previously shown himself to be to Baranara, but wizened and possible decrepit, not a threat to anyone unless they happened to be a bowl of porridge. Let his appearance speak of the weakness he portrayed, but voice was everything, for a simple slip of the tone would give light to his game. Stepping into sight of the intruder and leaving his scythe, and his belongings, behind Hesrik calmed his mind and prepared the energy needed for a momentary casting of a jutsu if necessary. The darkness outside made it difficult to see the figure properly, only a silhouette to be used to define him by. "We have a fire! Come, warm yourself and be spared the elements. We are friendly folk, no worry!" tab
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Techniques Used: ✤
Current Objectives: ✤ Discover where I am, and what year it is. How long have we slept?
Items of Note: ✤
Neryem
NecroPlant
[ e x p ] 0000 x|x [ r y o ] 0000 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 350 / 350 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 125 / 125
[ m o o d ]Exhausted x|x [ h e a l t h ] Weakened x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] None x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Established
