Sili sat in a corner of the sandy arena cross-legged, her robe's slack collected beneath her in a haphazard pile of cloth. She brushed her hand through sand on the ground in front of her, letting it sift through her fingers as she slowly formed trenches and piles. Where did all this sand come from? I can't believe how much of this stuff is here. I wonder how much there actually is? Sili took a handful of sand in her right hand and sat up straight, presenting it in front of her. She used her left hand to pick out individual grains and threw them behind her as she counted.

One, two, three, four, five, six... She counted several hundred grains before giving up. Hm, if that little bit had so many grains in it, then that means... She looked around her, taking in the vast quantity of sand that composed the arena. Wow. Sili dropped the sand and watched as it poured out her hand slowly, forming a granulated waterfall crashing to the ground below. She picked up some more sand and repeated this, smiling. She tried to measure how fast it took the sand to reach the ground, and after a few tries got it somewhat consistent. A third of a second. She was almost right, off by about five tenths and god knows how many smaller fractions. She continued playing in the sand, though often stopped to look around her. Thirsty, thirsty. No water was in sight, and the air of Sunagakure was discouragingly dry. She looked overhead and saw no clouds, only a brightly lit sun beating down on her as it had been. She winced as she tried to make out its details, but it was too much for her. She fell backwards onto the ground, then proceeded to move her arms and legs about to push the sand around her body. She laughed, remembering doing something similar in a land far up North, here the weather was much colder and the air not so dry.

344

Toraika hardly ever worked on her Ninjutsu these days. After her rank up she decided to specifically work on her Medical Ninjutsu so she decided it was a good day to finally go somewhere and train some of her Wind Release. She sighed as the sun beat down on her from up above. It was hot but she was used to it. She was used to the same things she always experienced in her village. She loved it either way. Soon she had reached the Sandy Arena and looked for a proper spot to begin her training. That was until she saw a girl that looked around her age giggling and playing in the sand. The girl genuinely looked to be having fun just with the sand making her curiously walk over to her. "Uhmm, hi! Wh-what are you doing?" She asked tilting her head to the side in curiosity. She had her hands behind her back examining the scene. "My name is Toraika, what's yours?" She asked realizing she did not recognize this girl anywhere before.

179

Sili had heard something prodding against the sand, approaching her. She lifted her head to see what it was to find a girl with pink hair walking towards her. Sili began sitting up, though struggled as the sand slipped out from beneath her hands. Once she succeeded, the girl was upon her.

Uhmm, hi! Wh-what are you doing? My name is Toraika, what's yours?

Sili smiled at the curious girl. She was rather cute and seemed a bit shy, but Sili's infatuation with knowledge overlooked that quickly. Sili stood up ungracefully, getting caught up in her robe and digging into the sand as she struggled. She laughed at herself a bit as she rose to her feet, then responded,

I'm Sili! I was just checking out the sand; it's pretty neat stuff. Toraika, eh? Mhm. Sili nodded, grinning at her with her usual excitement. She began stepping closer to her as she spoked, I've never seen hair like yours before. Pink; what a bizarre color! Sili giggled as she continued towards her. Do you live here? Why isn't there any water? Aren't you thirsty?

536

Toraika watched the girl stand up and giggled with her at her clumsiness. The girl looked so fun and energetic. She was even more excited she was so interested in asking so many questions. No one ever asked Toraika how she was doing or anything of the nature in personal questions. She waited for Sili to finish her questions so she could answer her. She suddenly got so self conscious about her hair though. She was born this way and got it from her Grandmother. "Hi, Sili! I am so delighted to meet you! I am so happy! The sand is quite wonderful, yes. I love it and especially when it's cool and I don't have shoes on! But beach sand is something I dream of seeing... I like my hair just the way it is! Also, I do live here. I was born here and I am a shinobi here!" Then she giggled at the woman cheerfully. "There is no water because it is the desert. But we do have a natural oasis where we receive our water. I am not thirsty at the moment but if you are, I can find you some water!" Then she got to thinking about why she knew so little about the village making her step back a bit. "You are not from here are you... Where have you come from?" She asked curiously. The more she studied this girl up and down the more mysterious she became. She wanted to know what this girl was up to.

436

Sili cocked her head at the girl's comment, proceeding to take her shoes off. The moment her foot touched the ground she jumped back up. Hot!! She had no clue how she could have been playing around in it without having noticed, and was even more confused that this girl called it "cool". Surely the locals adapted, but it always surprised her. She licked her lips, I'm fine for now, I think. Thank you though! And the beach is wonderful! There's water as far as the eye can see, literally! Sili giggled, raising her arms up to emphasize her point as her robe's slack drooped. The sand at the beach is nothing like this. The sand there is pale, and here it seems almost orange. Also the air is humid and here it's so dry! She licked her lips once more at the thought of the water. The salts about the same though. I could take you there if you'd like. It's always good to retrace one's steps; you get to see everything from an opposite direction! Sili then nodded, rather liking the thought of retracing her steps yet again. The girl then began stepping back with an inquisitional look on her face,

You are not from here are you... Where have you come from? Sili smiled at her gently. She was used to people being wary of others, especially strangers. It was a curse that came with being a wanderer, though Sili often made short work of it.

I'm a wanderer; my clan has traversed the world for generations in search of enlightenment. I don't when, or if I'll find it, but the more I see the more I will know- Sili caught herself, knowing she didn't believe what she just said, Er, rather, the more I see, the more I can try to understand. I don't think I'll ever truly know anything! She laughed again, placing her arm behind her head as her robe's sleeve slipped down her arm.

880

Toraika smiled and understood that the girl was of no threat. After realizing she didn't need to fight she relaxed. "That sounds very fascinating Sili. I wish you the best on your travels! It was so very nice meeting you, but I'm afraid I have to go and train. I am running late after all!" And with that Toraika turned away waving behind her to get back to the spot she had originally picked out to train in.

516

As the girl excused herself, beginning to walk away, Sili's mind raced. She had forgotten all about the sand and was suddenly intrigued by the girl. I wonder what she's like? How has this barren sea of sand effected her? I've been here a few days and I'm overwhelmed by this sand; does she just get used to it? What is she training? Ooo what are her jutsu? Sili had always been curious about jutsu; they were all so strange and varied. All things were like that to Sili, but to her jutsu were another level. A ball of flame doesn't exist in nature, and walls don't spontaneously burst out of the ground. To meet someone was to learn a lot in Sili's mind; she sees an entirely different life perceiving the world.  And out of all of that, they Create jutsu. Her curiosity got the best of her and she called out to Toraika as she walked away.

Toraika! Uhm, could I see some of your jutsu by chance? As much as Sili has traveled, her social skills seem awkward. In reality, though, she's found being direct about asking for something was always the best way to ask. Drumming it up just makes the question more imposing. She still stood with an awkward smile though, knowing the question seemed strange.

1109

Toraika turned blinking a few times. That was such a strange question and it suddenly made her extremely self conscious. "I... uhm... i-if you l-like..." She said smiling pretending it didn't bother her. She swallowed hard and then found a target: a large boulder the size of small house. She then began to concentrate. "Okay here we go..." She murmured then clapped her hands together holding them for a moment before separating them and pushing her hands forward at the boulder sending it backwards until it just cracked into small pieces and mostly blew away. "Ta dah?" She said relaxing and turning to face the mysterious wanderer nearby. She blushed and put her hands behind her back comfortably waiting for a response. "So what do you think?" She asked curiously.

649

Sili smiled comfortably as the girl responding, trying to ease her anxiety. She then located a good sized boulder and began walking up to it.

Okay here we go...The girl put her hands together, and seemed to be gathering chakra. After a moment, she pulled them apart and pushed them forward into the rock. A burst of wind erupted from her palms, shooting out the sides in between her hands and the stone. It made Sili stumble back a step; it had somewhat of a shock-wave effect to it, but Sili could see that this was only a side effect. As soon as she released her chakra, the boulder flew forward, breaking apart some meters away from the force. Sili blinked; she had seen Futon before, much stronger versions even, but it was always a sight to behold. She always loved the element of wind; the way it could manipulate any physical object and exist all around them all the time was magnificent. She had a certain appreciation for it that, without a doubt, would one day lead to her studying Futon.

Ooo. She said, running up to Toraika excitedly. Again, again! She scooped up a small, talc stone laying atop the desert floor and flung it towards Toraika, attempting to see her deflect it.

1326

Toraika laughed a bit at Sili's excitement but the moment she through the stone she got defensive. "Hey! Stop it!" She gasped then immediately made a hand sign and disappeared with a poof of smoke leaving a large rock in her place, dodging the stone herself as it hit the large rock she left in her place. She had not fought in quite some time but she was prepared. She did come to train after all. She did not understand what this girl wanted though. Why did she start throwing stones at her? She shook all the thoughts away and focused on what she was doing. She had just used a substitution jutsu and now had reappeared exactly where she needed to be. She had no idea what this girl would do next nor did she know what skills the girl had. She could not even figure out her intentions. She crouched behind a medium sized boulder that resulted from the wreckage of the large one she broke apart moments ago. She began to store chakra within her hands as she pressed them together in a clapping motion. She had her senses on high and was awaiting for the girl to react. 

852

Jutsu Just Used:

Chakra: 185/200

(Also my jutsu list is posted in my signature.)

Sili's eyes were wide open, ready to see the girl expel another burst of wind. Instead, she backed up and seemed extremely put off by Sili's provocation. She disappeared in a burst of smoke, and Sili's stone smacked into a large rock, bouncing off it and returning to Sili's hand. She caught it as it flew to her right, whipping her arm out to gracefully absorb its momentum. Sili perked up, confused.

H-hey! Where'd you go? What's wrong? Sili looked around, wondering where the girl she had just met went to. She had seen the substitution plenty of times before, and couldn't tell why the girl was getting defensive. Sili didn't see her in any direction, only sand, rocks, and the surrounding fence. She called out, Hellooo? I don't mean to hurt you, my stones are relatively harmless! I just want to see what you can do! She continued looking around, and if Toraika didn't come out soon, she would have to find her herself. If this happened, Sili knew it would come off as aggressive but, then again, knew that it would also provoke her into showing Sili more of her abilities.

1530

Toraika wasn't sure if she could trust the girl anymore. She was always taught that if a stranger gives you any reason to be a threat, treat them as such. She really disliked and did not believe in this rule. She did not want to hurt anyone because they threw a rock at her. She sighed and then swallowed hard before separating her hands and letting the electricity flow back into her body. She then decided to just play with the girl instead. If she wanted to see her abilities, she would show her. Toraika laughed to herself and then stood up from behind the stone. "Here I am!" She shouted then leapt up high into the air and instead of falling back down she floated up there with gusts of wind visible around her every once in a while. She sat down as if in a chair, crossing her legs as the air continued to move around her, keeping her sitting in the sky stably.

1019

Chakra: 185/200

Sili turned around to see the girl hovering in the air. So that's just with wind, huh? It's so versatile, I wonder how one tames it. Still, if this is what she can do out of combat, then I wonder... Sili bent down and scooped up a handful of talc stones. Her hands slid through the sand, collecting the small rocks as they sifted. When she stood back up, she had a good ten stones in her hands. She then cracked a grin. She knew this girl was cautious, however at the same time seemed to want to trust Sili. Sili had only one thing on her mind, and knew that unless the girl felt at least a little threatened she wouldn't come at her with all of her abilities. She slide the stones into her sleeves' pockets, leaving one flat rock in each hand. She then threw out her hands, crossing them across her chest, then whipped them back the other way to cross them again. She repeated this a few times, sending out all ten rocks in all. They were scattered about in front of Sili, heading towards the ground between her and Toraika. This would hopefully make it seem like she just threw a barrage of stones straight into the ground. However once the stones made contact with the ground, each would gracefully skip off of it and head towards/around Toraika. Not only that, but the ones on the edges would be able to skip around the rock, redirecting to cover the area behind it too should she take cover. Sili was confident that at least a couple would hit her if she didn't activate a jutsu for Sili to see.

wordcount:

(I am no longer a Chuunin so exit thread.)