๑๑๑๑Before Luo could act on the thought process he'd gone through countless times of how this situation would play out, he felt someone's hand grip his forearm. Had Luo's arm not been covered where Athran had touched, the young shinobi might have acted on instinct to release his arm. It wasn't well known because it was often difficult to notice, but Luo didn't particularly like to be touched outside of combat or family functions. There was no reason behind it that made the behavior something that helped him in any way, it was simply a quirk he'd acquired over the years. Rather than react before thinking, he simply began to stand upright, allowing the motion to naturally cause Athran to loosen his grip.
In that moment, the deer both looked back at their position, quickly darting off to the right. Exhaling through his nostrils rather profusely, Luo twirled the senbon between his fingers for a few seconds before returning it to the hip pouch on his side. Turning back to stare at Athran for a moment, Luo muttered a simple "Hmph," before continuing back towards the village. The tone of the expression was as usual flat, somewhere between curiosity and slight disappointment. After walking for about fifteen feet, Luo stopped dead in his tracks without fully turning around, his neck turning to the left slightly so that his words could reach Athran's ears better.
"I wonder if your conscience will interfere with every hard decision you encounter." Without a second to spare, the young councilor began to move through the brush once more without another word on the matter for the time being. The comment almost seemed to be something he said in passing without expectation of a response, not laced with anger or frustration. Like most of the children he taught, Luo held doubt that Athran would be capable of doing what he was training him to do in the end. All the students save for Enryu were not familiar with the act of taking another human life, something even Luo recognized as possibly difficult to do. However, he hoped when their backs were against the wall they'd all act on instinct, and not on emotion.
Attempting to put the matter to rest for the time being knowing full well until they were tested he'd never really have an answer, Luo looked up towards the sky and realized it was perhaps too late for hunting anything that wouldn't potentially hunt you back. Luckily Luo had some dehydrated meat in his shack, often spending time pulling moisture out of his meet so it would keep longer. He'd briefly thought about keeping his meat in the water source so that it was kept cool, however the risk for contamination was too high.
Taking a sharp turn right Luo kept a leisurely pace, strolling through the area with his hands in his pockets. It wouldn't be too long before the reached the forest just outside of the village gates, and he wondered if any of the patrol men had seen Timmy and Shikaku anywhere around.
When the average person person meditated they maintain a serene expression or at least there was some indication of focus. Enryu looked like a man trapped in a nightmare with beads of sweat rolling down the contours of his dusky face. His deeply furrowed brow twitched frequently and blood welled up in the shallow ditches his nails carved into his palm.
Behind his sealed eyelids he envisioned himself sitting in the traditional lotus pose upon a rocking ocean of water. He could feel it hungrily lapping it has his spiritual self, held at bay by sheer willpower alone. That same willpower urged the ocean to be still but holding the force of nature and commanding it were two very different things. Undeterred, the former mercenary persevered and rode the choppy waves without breaking his pose. Tossed in every conceivable direction and often overcome by towering waves the aspiring shinobi held the lotus position and endured every trick the spiritual waters threw at him. A sharp inhale after what felt like hours brought the sea to heel and Enryu didn't waste a second of his command over the spiritual force. Beneath the deep black of the ocean and deep purple glow lit and boiled the sea until the spiritual was empty except for Enryu and the great burning flame. Numb to what would otherwise be a marvelous and terrifying sight Enryu grasped the flame tightly in his hand and instinctively drew it into his skin. A dizzying sensation overtook him and immediately jolted him out of his meditative state, bringing him into a clearing lit by a royal purple light seemingly emanating from his body.
In the poor light of a dying sun, his eyes could pick out details that would have escaped him in ideal light conditions. The scent of sweat and ozone stung his nose and the wind stirred by the ignition of his chakra tickled his exposed flesh and echoed throughout the clearing. He peeled his fingers from his palms and inspected the pools of now coagulated blood in the grooves of his flesh but found no wounds in the pink skin. His body felt renewed as if he emerged from a full body massage and his mind worked as if he'd enjoyed a full nights sleep.
"Hmph," muttered Enryu after flicked off the flecks of dried blood on his palms. The scroll said nothing about regenerative qualities granted when activating one's chakra and yet the wounds he knew should be there were nowhere to be found. While he knew the color of one's chakra was no indication of their elemental affinity Enryu expected some sort of revelation or insight as to what ninjutsu he would be able to perform. Frankly, any elemental affinity would suit him just fine although the image spewing great streams of fire at an opponent brought a grim smile to his typically stoic face. Satisfied with the results Enryu carefully sheathed his short sword and stretched, though more out of habit than necessity. His body felt amazing after he tapped into his chakra and despite the rapidly approaching darkness he considered testing himself against one of the local predators. However with no idea of the extent of his newfound power Enryu reserved the test for another day and made his way back towards the camp.
Unknowingly he would pass Luo without seeing or sensing the experienced shinobi but instead stumbled on a white haired youth from behind. He raised an eyebrow after recognizing the boy as one of the students enrolled in the academy. Few so young hunted alone and yet the youth was out in the dying light. Had he caught him in the midst of tracking his prey or was the boy out training in the wilderness? Unconcerned with how exposed he was or hiding his presence, Enryu contented himself with observing the boy's actions before speaking.
[Exit to Forest]
Statistics Chakra: 15/15 Jutsu Crafter || Combo Wellness: Prime
Equipment:
Short Sword: [<1>] - [] Small Scroll: [<1>] - [< Right pocket>]
AthranFormlos Weapon Master || Chakra Control || Academy Student || Combo User ||
Chakra: 15 |||| Status: Healthy
"You can always choose your actions...
As Athran placed his hand on Luo's arm he could immediately feel the young councilor stiffen slightly before rising to stand. Athran let his hand slide away as the other man rose and turned his attention to the pair of deer just in time to see them darting off further into the forest. As their quarry escaped Athran could hear an irritated exhalation of breath from the shinobi. Turning his head towards Luo, he found himself meeting that deep blue stare of his. Those eyes seemed to pierce through Athran, as if with his eye's alone Luo was dissecting him to figure out his inner-workings, as if he were weighing him and judging his worth. Judging by the dark-haired shinobi's reaction, he seemed to find Athran wanting.
As Luo turned away and said a few words doubting whether or not Athran could make hard decisions, Athran turned his attention back to where the deer had been. This decision wasn't that hard... I can live without the meat, even if it would have been a nice change of pace. With a sigh, Athran rose to his feet and followed after his teacher in silence. He had expected to be berated, and while he certainly did not enjoy disappointing Luo, he felt no regret. It wasn't a successful day of hunting perhaps, but he felt as if he had learned something about the calculated council-man, which was certainly more valuable then a few pounds of flesh.
