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 Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:54 pm
-=Ooc=-
Ohmigosh, I haven't replied in AGES....Sorry about that. I've been busy and sick(still) in a very ugly way. ugghh.... I officially feel like crap. sad Anywho, got a short, craptastic reply for ya'll. Hooray....
During this whole exchange, the child stood stock still and silent by the nearest wall in the room, not even daring to move, fearing that the tense man and woman would somehow feel her movement and lash out unexpectedly at her. That, and Kia just didn't know how to react. She had no idea if this behavior was acceptible for the people here, or if she should intervene (a slim to zip chance). Instead, the girl kept wisely to herself, muscles tense, eyes and ears taking every word in, mind doing it's very best to piece together what was occuring infront of her, and storing the experiance for future referance that, more than likely, she would need to look back upon in the future. 'How can Obnoxious Lady be so care-free when her friends are at eachothers throats?' Kia couldn't help but ponder, not liking this situation one bit.
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:52 pm
((Quite alright. I haven't posted in a while for the the reason of school and being sick last week.))
Kanshin smiled up to Hido, hugging him sweetly and giggling happily. "Maybe Kikyo-sempai knows something we don't. After all, she doesn't sound that sure when she isn't confident."
Kikyo remembered for the first time that Kia was still around and decided that maybe the level of hostility in her voice was making the child nervous. After all, she was plastering herself pretty close to the wall. Kikyo held one hand out and signaled for Kia to come over to her. "Don't worry. Kanshin's so calm durring over this since Hido and I don't see eye to eye... Ever. I still hate him for the fact that he's constantly trying to take my friends from me. That, and the fact that I've been raised to automatically hate rouge ninja." She looked Hido directly in the eyes at the next thing that she would say. "Slimy scum bag."
Kanshin pouted lightly to Kikyo. "Kikyo-sempai, that's really prejudice and mean."
Kikyo looked to Kanshin with a small smile hidden under her mask. "Tell me, how are your parents handling the fact that you're engagd to the former head of the Akatsuki, and are even wearing his Akatsuki ring as an engagement ring?"
Kanshin opened her mouth to say something before looking down nervously. "Umm, well, Momma and Pappa don't exactly know that I'm engaged at the moment... But it's not because I'm ashamed or anything! I just haven't had the time or ability to! Honest!"
Kikyo smirked beneath the mask and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, ok."
Kanshin pouted lightly before hugging Hido. "They'll probably be a little unsure since they're protective over me, but I love Hido-kun, and I don't need their approval to marry him."
"How old are you?"
"17. Why?"
"Does that count as being an adult in your village?"
"...."
"That's what I thought."
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:46 pm
The child glanced at Kikyo as the woman offered her hand and, somewhat, softened her hostility, acts that Kia was greatful for and was quick to accept, swiftly reaching over and lightly slipping her tiny hand into the older woman's, carefull to not give off an air of clingy-ness for fear of irritating her mother figure. As the conversation continued at a more mild tone, the girl couldn't help but be surprised by a little fact.
"Your seventeen but you aren't an adult in your tribe yet?" she questions, her inbred beliefs being the source of her confusion, for they greatly differ from those proposed by Kanshin and Kikyo herself.
'I keep forgeting that I'm a foriegner. Of course the hierarchy is going to be strange to me....' Kia mentally scolds herself.
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:41 pm
Kanshin looked over to Kai and smiled cutely, tilting her head to the side lightly. "Well, to some I might, but my parents told me you aren't an adult until you're old enough to drink sake, which, where I come from, I'm not."
Kikyo shrugged lightly to what Kanshin said. "Things are different in Hidden Heaven. Especailly between the two clans. The clan that summons dragons, they aren't considered adults until they've helped train their dragons to a certain level of power. Then for the Soshi clan, you aren't an adult until you mater Air Walk. There are some 40 year olds that aren't considered adults with in those clans because they slacked off. And then, there's Kekkeishi. He's been an adult since he was... 8, I believe. Yeah He's 2 years older than me, and I was 6 at the time."
Kanshin blinked in surprise. This was something she hadn't known about Kikyo's clan, but it certainly did help explan her attitude farther. "That's pretty incredible,Kikyo-sempai. No wonder you kept calling me a kid for a whole year after we met..." She looked down to Kia and tilted her head to the side while smiling innocently. "So, Kia-chan, what do you have to do to be considered an adult in your family? Is there, like, some sort of right of passage that you guys go through or just a certain age you have to reach..?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:23 pm
Kia listened intently, absorbing all that she could out of habit, and a small smile creeped upon her face. One thing that stands out most about the child is her willingness and eagerness to learn. Any new information that she is exposed to, she will soak up like a rag, save it for later, then wring it out agian whenever she wished to reflect upon it, decifer it, and ponder it. And so the girl did with this piece of information as well, made even more important and special being as that it was about someone Kia considered a 'significant relation', aka: a friend. Another thing that stands out as well, is her enjoyment on educating others of her culture. So when Kashin asked her a question on something of that subject, she was more than thrilled to answer.
"There is." the child begins, barely containing her pride and excitement. "For most all of our people, we become eligable for right of passage when a girl turns thirteen and a boy turns fifteen. For boys, their ceremony is short, but painful. The boy and all the men in a tribe isolate themselves in a single large hut. There, the boy performs his first task for initiaton into manhood. He first must endure a test of pain. The elders select large, sturdy thorns, dip them in ink, then tattoo our tribes symbol onto the left side of his chest, above his heart. The process takes hours, and the boy's always cry form the pain. A couple have died from it as well." Kia's eyes distance for a single moment at the thought, then snap right back into focus, continuing. "The second stage is a test of strength. After being tattooed, he is led into a fenced in area containing a single black bull. The challenge is for the boy to wrestle the bull to the ground and tie a red piece of ribbon around one of it's back legs. If he manages to complete that, then the easiest and final stage is for him to move out of his family's hut, and build one for himself." The child smiles, allowing a moment of pause before going on to the next part. "For girls, they only become adults when they marry. They are kept away from the village with only her mother and grandmother for a week and during that time, the girl's mother and grandmother educate her on the duties she will have to carry out when she becomes a married woman." Kia pauses for a second to look up her listener(s). "After that week, the girl and is sent alone to her future husband's tribe for their wedding. The husband's family pour water on the girl from one of their wells to 'clense' her, give her a small sip of their milk, then dab the sap of their spirit tree onto her forehead to bless her. After that, she and her husband are secluded for a night, and the morning after, the wedding ends and she is officially a woman." She blinks. "Marrage for our people is planned, arranged the moment a girl is born. And her husband is chosen by whatever woman says she wants her son to marry her. Basically, most girls are engaged before they are even born." the girl sums up finally.
She smiles, proud of herself in a strange way.
"That right of passage doesn't apply to me though, because I am the daughter of the head. The first born of the head family has a special passage that they must go through before they are considered wise, strong, and blessed enough to take their parents places. The main focus for us is to become closer to our ancestors and our spiritual mother. We start at a young age; praying, meditating, and studying The Nkallta." Kia explains, pronouncing the 'nk' by clicking her tounge. "The Nkallta is a book of our history, of how we were created from the sand of the earth by our spirit mother, Soku-Naki. We do all this up until we turn the age of twelve, which is how old I am. On our twelveth birthday, we have to leave the tribe. We can take only what our parents put into our bags...." the girl pats her bag for enphasis, "....and the weapon we have been trained to use. For me, it is a bow and arrow. The point of leaving is to build up our knowledge of the world, both the physical and spiritual. We are told to learn all that we can about everything, and we are forbidden to return for sixty moons. By the time that sixy moons has passed, we will have gained enough knowledge to return home where our parents will step down and that son or daughter becomes the new head. I'm a long way from that though. I'm only seven moons into my journey." she says, slight disappointment in her voice, as if she wished she'd been more into her journey as to impress her companions. "But a good thing is, we aren't required to immediatly marry. To be honest, I dont really like the idea of being married off anyway." Kia continues, perking herself back up.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 11:43 am
Kanshin listened just as attentively as Kia had to her and Kikyo, finding this all really cool and amazing. She had never been out of her village until 2 years ago, so she still had a whole lot to learn about the world (on her own will, of course). "Wow~! That's so amazing, Kia-chan~! So you're going to be the leader of your clan when you grow up? Your goal sounds a lot like Kikyo-sempai's life-long goal, huh Kikyo-sempai?"
Kikyo shrugged calmly in response to Kanshin's question. "Eh, give or take. Sound's like the kid's gonna inherit her possition in life. I, on the other hand, am gonna have to work my a** off to get the position of Kage in Heaven. I still have a long way to go..."
Kanshin blinked before looking up. "Oh, that's right. You're still a genin like me. You never signed up for the chuunin exams, have you?"
Kikyo growled and glanced off to the side, her golden eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Not true. I signed up once, but I've never had the time... The first 3 times Chuunins came around I was waiting for Kaishi to join, and then afterwards I had you to deal with. I've been busy."
Kanshin rubbed the back of her neck and gave an understanding smile. "Of course, of course. Sorry, Kikyo-sempai." She looked to Kia and smiled. "Hido-kun said he's gonna be gone for a while, so would you like to go exploring some to gain more knowledge of the world? After all, I'm sure Kikyo-sempai's just dieing to get out of here. She doesn't like staying in one place for too long. Isn't that right?"
Kikyo gave a small huff... which translated into a yes.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:25 pm
Kia's pride grew even more at Kashin's comments, and she nearly burst her seams when compared to Kikyo. The girl had no idea that her companion had had the same goal in mind as she, and that made her feel a little closer to the woman. Having trouble containing the pride she felt that practically made her glow, the child mearly nodded in responce to Kashin's question, and stood, throwing her bag over her shoulders. Swallowing to calm herself enough to speak, she looks at Obnoxious Lady in earnest.
"Where are we going to go?" she excitedly asks first, only the beginning of the line of questions she wished to inquire.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:21 pm
((Hey, just wanted to let you know I got in trouble with my grades, so it may be a while until I can post again. Sorry about this. sweatdrop crying ))
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:33 pm
-=Ooc=-
That's fine. Just concentrate on getting those grades up! ^^I dont want ya to fail. Come back when ya can! biggrin
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:59 pm
((Thanks for understanding. ^_^ ))
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:32 pm
Kanshin looked to Kikyo since she usually made the choices in where they would head to. "Well, where are we headed to today, Kikyo-sempai?"
Kikyo sighed and closed her eyes, tilting her head up towards the ceiling in thought. "Hmm... Hmm, hmm, hmm... Kia... Any place you have in mind that you would like to learn? Certain abilities you want to master or elements that you are interested in?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:42 pm
Kia was caught off guard by Kikyo's question, and she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly in confusion, a habit that refused to be broken.
"Me?" she blinks, thinking. "Um....not really. I dont know any of the places near here, and I would like to learn any different abilities you want me too. I like everything" she concludes, feeling slighlty embarassed and frustrated that she could not give the woman a straight answer, she is a foriegner after all.
'I hope I didn't upset her.' the girl thinks, thumbing the strap to her back nervously.
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:03 pm
Kikyo got a slightly annoyed look on her face. Kia may accidently mistake this with Kikyo being annoyed with her, but any one who knew Kikyo well knew it was just annoyance in her inability to make a choice at that exact moment. She wasn't one to really know the other villages well. This was bad, yes (especailly considering what she wanted to become), but it tended to happen.
Kanshin caught onto Kikyo's fustration and immdeiately chimed in. "How about Hidden Night~? They have the ability to control sound, ice, and flat out fighting moves. It wouldn't hurt to learn several things in one village rather than only one type of category. Besides, you were working on making your ice more powerful, Kikyo-sempai. Couldn't hurt for you to improve it with more ideas~!"
Kikyo blinked a few times, the anger in her eyes softening with each blink. Now that an idea was in her head, she was satisfied. Actually, a trip to Hidden Knight sounded just fine with her. After all, she was sold the second she heard about the sound and ice. Manipulating sound.. that was helpful.
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:12 pm
"Sound...?" Kia says, utterly perplexed.
She had never even imagined people who could manipulate elements such as ice before she met Kikyo and Hindo, but sound!? That was even more alien to her, and even more interesting. Excitement seeped into her after her embarassment quickly wore off, and she gazed up at Kanshin first, then at the other woman hopefully.
"So... may we go there?" she chimes.
'Wow! Sound! I bet no one back at home would have even heard of it! It sounds so cool and fun! And I'll go to a new place!' she giggles in her mind.
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:23 pm
Kikyo looked to Kia before nodding. "Of course. Manipulting sound, something that can hit no matter how far an enemy is or even if they cover their ears, would definately be of help."
Kanshin smiled and laughed lightly. "Kikyo-sempai, you're more in it for the ice techniques, aren't you?"
You could almost make out a light smirk underneath Kikyo's mask.
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