kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 17:25:46 GMT -4
Lenore stretched her muscles, the vertebrae in her back making a satisfying crackling sound as her back pulled tight. As she exhaled, she looked around her, the field in front of her empty. She turned to her little companion, and gave a sage nod. the little black panther trotted away, to the edge of the trees in the distance and disappeared.
Lenore carefully went over the events of the last few weeks, counting back in her head through the days and piecing together a storyline based on the information she had had.
Sure, she had probably made things worse for herself, but at least her friend was safe. Anything coming up now was going to simply have to be handled.
She wondered if Yuki would have time to go over a few things with her. perhaps they would be able to figure out what had gone on, between the spaces of prophecy, and the sudden and strange disappearance of the little one.
As she sat, quietly contemplating, she rapidly spun a single kunai on her finger, the other digits on the same hand flashing as they touched the kunai only to leap back for it's passage. So absorbed was she, that the noise of Pishka in the forest, and the action of the world around her, were completely overlooked.
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 17:43:14 GMT -4
Yuki decided enough time had passed. He had to start small, but he made his way back to the training grounds to see if he might be able to at least manage a few ice daggars, or shatter a window with sound waves or something...
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 17:49:26 GMT -4
it was only the touch of the cold nose against her hand that alerted her to any change. Pishka shoved her muzzle hard into Lenore's fingers, stopping the kunai in mid-round. Lenore looked down in surprise at her companion, blinking the images of the recent trip out of the way. The panther stooped, dropping a rabbit onto the ground before looking back to her companion.
Lenore reached down, resting her hand on Pishka's head before reaching towards the fallen prey, only to feel the muscles in her friend's shoulders stiffen as she shifted. Glancing up, she saw that the feline's eyes were riveted on the road approaching the field. Lenore crouched down in the long grasses, her companion following suit. Closely, she watched the road for the approaching entity, wary but still.
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 17:55:17 GMT -4
Yuki made his way to what he had started to consider his private little corner of the training ground. It looked as if quite a few explosions had gone off here, and, well, that was certainly the case. This is where Yuki had trained with his new ice-bomb assassination technique which had been, at least part, of the reason he had lost his forehead protector. Now it was back to square one...
He dropped his kit bag on the ground and just looked around. He had to start small... No ice... He just needed to try and make some sounds...
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 18:06:40 GMT -4
Lenore smiles as she recognized the figure standing at the edge of the grasses. Her luck seemed to be doing alright for the time being, so she decided to press it a little further.
She stood up from the ground, studying the figure in front of her. her old acquaintance had changed a little, but she was sure it was the same young man. Suddenly she became self-conscious. Perhaps he would not konw her. Perhaps he would not remember... after all, if Kaliri could forget...
She stood still, waiting to see if he recognized her. Waiting for him to realize she was there.
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 18:11:00 GMT -4
It was a good test, Yuki decided. It was low skill level, low risk.
A voice came straight from behind Lenore, but Yuki did not move, she was still watching him in front of her. "Do you enjoy simply watching, or will you speak?"
The Yuki in front of her rubbed his throat... Maybe he wasn't quite ready yet, the ventriloquism hurt...
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 18:16:11 GMT -4
Lenore startled, and turned with a jerk, but was slower than Pishka, who whirled with a snarl. Lenore glanced behind her, and seeing nothing, chuckled to herself. She looked over at Yuki and flashed her hands in her usual greeting through the signals she'd used when she first came to the village. ~Clever, sir.~ She signed, then kicked at the rabbit with her toe before moving towards the man at the edge of the road. Pishka picked up her bounty and trotted along behind her friend, her eyes scanning the grasses warily.
Lenore approached Yuki, dropping to a submissive crouch for a moment before moving to stand in front of him. She smiled, but her eyes were cautious as she finally spoke.
"It is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it." She intoned, watching for signs of familiarity.
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 18:24:23 GMT -4
Yuki adjusted his dark glasses as he turned, revealing some very nasty looking, and not quite yet healed, scars over most of the front of his throat. "and yet, it seems that most people are more than willing to." He studied her for a second, but she had a very distinct appearance, and it took Yuki only a fraction of a second to recognize her. "You have been a stranger," he said...
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 18:26:54 GMT -4
Lenore considered the words a moment, a wry smile lighting her face before a grimace took it's place.
"I had.... people to protect." She offered by way of a blanket explanation. "It was good to see the walls of Konoha, though." She took a moment to let her eyes linger pointedly on the scars before she raised her eyebrow at Yuki, once again meeting his gaze.
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 18:28:32 GMT -4
Yuki followed her gaze. He was used to it by now, though he really couldn't wait for it to fully heal so that he could do something about it. "Surgery," he explained in a single word. "Haven't been back out for long..."
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 18:35:59 GMT -4
Lenore gave a little grin, and looked out around the field for a moment. Yuki, Rachi, Kumori.... even the ever-frustrating Otomeken. She wondered how each of them was doing in light of the events of the last two years. Had it been as eventful for them?
"Have the others fared as well as you, then?" She asked, crouching on the ground in an attempt to ease some of the pain in her feet and legs. She held her hand out to Pishka, stroking the fur on the cat's head as she bent to rend the flesh from her kill, devouring it steadily. Lenore's mind flashed back to the visions of the demise of Konoha, and feared what may have transpired in her absence.
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 18:40:20 GMT -4
"The others?" Yuki inquired. There were a lot of other people in the village, and wasn't quite sure who she was referring to. "If you mean Takara, no. We had... what you might call a falling out..."
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 18:44:47 GMT -4
lenore blinked, and took a moment to race through her mind, trying to remember who Takara was. She knew Yui had had a significant other, and assumed that this might be who he was referring to now. She gave him the flash of a sympathetic look, but quickly her expression changed to musing as she clarified her question.
"I meant... Kumori, Rachi... Oto-... the... other girl..." She glowered a moment before moving on. "If you recall, there were a few instances of... warning that might have been cause for concern." She waved her hand dismissively, and chewed on her lower lip a moment before she shrugged. "Nevermind, I'm almost certain it did not come to pass."
The thought weighed on her, but she pushed it aside as best she could and smiled back at Yuki, perhaps a bit teasing. "So, what is the young Anbu doing out here in the novice grounds?"
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Yuki
Genin
Posts: 20,903
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Post by Yuki on Jan 3, 2010 18:59:32 GMT -4
"Kumori - ran for the hills I guess. Haven't seen hide nor hair of him. Rachi probably went with him, don't know don't care. Oto... I don't even know who that is," he said with a shrug. Then she mentioned ANBU.
"How long have you been gone?" he asked. Yuki still had the sword, and the mask and armour was burried beneath god only knew what in his foot locker at the barracks. He hadn't even trained with the ANBU in years and years...
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kumar
Academy Student
Posts: 721
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Post by kumar on Jan 3, 2010 19:04:13 GMT -4
Lenore pondered this, a troubled look passing over her face at the question. She frowned down at Pishka, trying to add the numbers in her head. Shrugging, she gave a rough estimate.
"Two years, I think, give or take a few months. We were out chasin-... well, I'm not entirely certain how long it's been. Long enough, I guess, for a midnight skating rink to be but a pleasant and vague memory...." She smiled to herself, scanning the treeline and the extent of the roadway again, the smile reaching her eyes this time as she receded two years in the past. She shook her head, and then looked back at Yuki. "Even so, you didn't answer my question."
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