It wasn't like him, this jumpiness. Taede wasn't the guy to panic about these sorts of things. No, he was the person that stayed calm because there was nothing, in his mind, to worry about. But this time....oh, there was plenty to unsettle his spirit. After being briefed by the proctor of the first exam, what he could only assume was a Jounin of Kumogakure no Sato, he was taken into a private area where he was given his Scroll, the one marked Heaven (天,
Ten). Ironic since he was probably stronger of body than of the mind. It was something that they were looking for....ninja that had both. (Possibly proving this point or possibly disproving, the Genin took his hitai-ate, which was normally worn as a sash, and tied it to his waist with the scroll underneath the metal....under his pants, in the front.)
Now, the proctor had said that the ninja here would be sent out with no food or supplies, except what they had on their person....it was troubling. The only food he had on his person was something that could potentially give him a serious case of food poisoning. It was the Wind Country Adamantine Pumpkin, which he had strapped to his back using some mundane twine. As they all were released onto the back of Genbu at the same time, Taede knew the relative positions of every entrant....up until a certain point. Distance made them difficult, and later, impossible to track. It was yet another thing that shouldn't have unnerved the yet-young, yet-sharp genin. He could hold his own, he knew that much. Perhaps it was best that he settle down for the day.
He had already made himself a good way past the harsh mountains that surrounded the more verdant ecosystem; a place filled with lush grass, high trees, and....oddly, for what the proctor said, not-so-vicious animals. Even more oddly, by this point the young man had not encountered a single other participant. Taede was sending out light
clicks at regular intervals now that he was in the trees; Dhalsim, his pet small bird, was gliding just below the canopy layer. He fit....really, almost perfectly, into the normalcy of the beings here. His song was naught to bring alarm, and his flight was seemingly aimless; as long as the avian could hear his companion, there was no need to follow him so strictly.
He had already made it to flat ground safely, a three-meter clearing that seemed to be a sort of peninsula. At the very least, the flat ground stopped there, as water seemed to reach out from that point. It was not to say that there were not small islets of rock that jutted out, but the safest procedure would be the trees that luckily still grew out of the water. At least, for travel.... the branches were naught like the ones he'd been traversing so far, which were thick and sturdy. It was a trait of some waterlogged trees to grow more offshoots in place of growing the existing branches more....Taede was familiar with this phenomenon in some of the plants he grew, as he wasn't a master gardener. He had drowned more than a few of his photosynthetic friends.
At any rate, Taede waited for a good deal of time securing the area. By securing the area, of course, that meant simply having Dhalsim scout out the area around to see if anyone approached. At least to the bird...there was naught. The Suna-nin trusted the bird quite well, as it had nigh on the same hearing as he did, if not more specialized due to having poorer eyesight. First task: Water. He lightly scooped his hands through the surface of this fairly vast expanse of liquid
What the...?
It was turbid and thick with dirt, and it almost sucked at his hands before he pulled them away quickly.....The water was not potable. Not by any means, unless he wanted to contract the botulism. There was no room in this exam for the botulism. To boot, it was not flowing water, which he knew as a basic of his survival Medical training as undrinkable; parasites and the like thrived in stagnant pools. The former, Taede's eye managed to catch, even through the cracks of light allowed to the watery floor by the canopy; they were small, but rather great in number, not a stretch of three-meters into that deep place without encountering at least a tad more light. Who knew what was living in there. It wasn't a certain, but the fen before him was an fairly likely habitat for one of the giant animals the proctor was talking about.
But...water. If he was to survive here, he needed water....and if the land didn't provide it....
"I need to find some fruit or vegetation....that should hold me off a bit, at least. It's edible and it's got water in it."
He half-whispered sentence vanished from even his own hearing. This was where he wished he had brought some actually-edible rations from Suna. Taede was in possession of a good few fruit-producing plants, too....
Griping wouldn't do him any good at this point. He needed to get to the canopy... hopefully without wasting chakra. The trees at least at the boundary of the swamp were stable, and had sturdy boughs even as he ascended toward their peaks, almost 15 meters. They were sturdy...but treacherous, as even the mightiest branches still bend. Taede had to take a 3-second interval between landing on each branch and jumping up to the next. There was no wind reaching through the trees, even at his own height; the air as stagnant as the water.
But heavens behold, he found what he was looking for. It was a climbing variety, and upon looking down the tree, he could see clearly the roots winding down the host's trunk; nothing else distracted him from this, no movement or sound. Dhalsim hadn't sounded any alarm, and he hadn't heard any noises out of the ordinary, at least from his vantage point above the ground.
Nephelium lappaceum, common name rambutan; it grew well in humid, moderate-temperature environs like this. This was a meal that he had to work to earn....it was nary a difficulty for him, though. The berries, which were known for their nutritive value, had spines covering them all over; it was unlikely for the normal people to evade pricking their fingers whilst peeling or even picking these mediocre-tasting large-grape-sized fruits. Taede used his rather loose shirt as a pouch for a crop of about 15 before descending the tree; his concentration and serenity had returned, and nothing so far had spoiled it. Dhalsim, at least, had not alerted him of anything....and promptly upon the first peeling, the swiftlet returned to his side immediately for the feeding. A soft, fleeting chuckle escaped Taede as he gave the white, ovular flesh-berry that lay within the red, spiny skin. Peeling was not as difficult to Taede as it would be to others, simply due to the rambutan spines being unable to pierce or even painfully impress upon his skin in any meaningful fashion. He ate one at a time, peel and eat, peel and eat; having kept about five of them in each front pocket, both rife with sand, for a later bit of sustenance.
It was a quick meal, lasting no more than four minutes, but the Suna-nin had kept his ears open quite well. He was versed in the art of walking silently, so he knew by heart what other people were supposed to listen for....what
he was supposed to listen for. Perhaps he was paranoid, but he thought he heard something. Without a second thought, he left the pumpkin at the base of a tree but taking the twine - too heavy, too much time to strap on - and dumped the leathery rambutan skins into the water. There were not enough islets to use as a sufficient platform to make it across this mire via that means alone.... Two or three were sufficient enough for more than one person to stand on, but they were far from the peninsula he had just left for the first branch of a tree on the right...it seemed the only sturdy option he could see at the moment. The movements were silent, and figure low to the ground. He wasn't exactly sure what this water
was, per se, from his first encounter with it. What kind of water tugs at you...?
At any rate, he wasn't going to find out. Ten meters from the peninsula he had just evacuated and five meters to the right, behind a slightly decrepit tree; either it had low-growing branches or this place was just flooded beyond the point of seeing the base of the trunk. From what he could tell....
Nyssa aquatica or
Fraxinus tomentosa...tall, rather narrow in branch-spread, fairly heavy foliage. For now, he was content to cling to multiples of the branches, one with his elbow and one each in the crook of his knees, which were still both managing a stand on the same even lower branch. He had strong joints...it was more efficient than hanging on by his hands, at any rate. He was....five metres off of the surface of the water, no worries. Dhalsim, from a chirp and click, Taede had noticed was about three meters in front of him, on a branch 1 meter higher; hopefully, he could notify his companion if anyone was coming.
He wore earth tones, and the shade of his shirt was not too dissimilar from the lighter bark on this tree (though the bark still notably darker)....perhaps he could get someone yet. His aim was only to take their scroll, nothing further. He couldn't risk anything beyond the necessary in this place.... right now, he was just focusing on centering his breathing. He wasn't panting from anything before, but he had to be calm in order to address situations....or people....that he had to come to face.
[
1730]
- 150/150:
Name: 難波空流気 [Nanba Aruki - Attentive Wave Empty Flow Chi]
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: D.
Type: Supplementary.
Element: None.
Range: Personal/Hearing
Specialty: Taijutsu
Duration: Up to 3 posts at a time.
Cooldown: Equal to Duration.
Description: A very practiced way of movement, requiring no chakra but unable to be used for long periods of time. It works best when the user can be entirely on the ground, as landing from a jump usually breaks this technique's benefit. The ninja walks with a bend in the knees at all times, lifting their feet in only minute amounts, giving the appearance of almost sliding across the ground. This kata erases the traditional footfall from the user's gait, even in strenuous activity. Nanba Aruki makes it impossible to detect the user's walking via sound so long as the ninja's Reaction Time and Speed outclass a would-be tailer's Perception, and also makes their chance of breaking or disturbing walking surfaces like thin ice or branches less likely. The ninja's ground-based movements are limited to 5m per post, as training to avoid making sound involves careful, deliberate steps.
Chakra-based sensory techniques of any rank can sense the user, but they must be C-rank or higher if they were to sense via sound for footsteps; echolocation is not penalized as such, however.
- On my person or with me:
All things considered to be on my person At All Times, as well as Natural armor, and the following.
Name: 怠死む [Dhalsim - No Death is Unmourned]
Species: Three-Toe Swiftlet.
Rank: D. -3 tier Strength and Endurance, +3 tier Reaction Time and Perception (hearing and tactile air currents, sight +2 ,smell +1)
Specializations: Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. (Physiology)
Appearance: A bird not much meant for hunting, as his species thrives on fruit and small insects. At 18 centimeters from beak to tail-tip (and around 13 from top of head to bottom of feet), it's somewhat easy to miss him on the ground; his wingspan is about 50 centimeters, which makes him just about as apparent as any other small bird in the sky. He was nursed back to (and possibly past) peak health by Taede's fervent use of Medical Ninjutsu, and was noted to grow a bit after the incident in which Taede met him. His stubby legs make his proportionately large body unsuitable for perching on things or extended terrestrial locomotion, but he can stay on vertical surfaces or hang upside-down with as much ease as other birds perch. His blackish-brown eyes, normal for his species, are notably not super-powerful like some birds of prey; this is because his species are able to echolocate via audible
clicks from their beaks. He is rather poor at any sort of attack with his talons, but his beak is just to the point between hooked and pointed that makes it a veritable weapon.
- Spoiler:
Personality: He is less of a pet and more of a tagalong, loosely understanding that Taede is the lesser in their relationship; he grips onto Taede's back or else follows him whilst in flight, whether his companion would deem it correct or not. He seems to have a great love and propensity for flying high (as is common for swifts) over the person he follows. He can understand some of the
clicks that Taede makes as a sort of makeshift language; Dhalsim's responses are more limited than Taede's, and he really only can vocalize with one chirp for no, two for yes, three for maybe/don't know, and other simple concepts. He'll peck at his companion either when he wants attention, or something was ill-conveyed to him. He loves to glide on air currents when he can, rather than flapping his wings all the time.
Techniques: - Spoiler:
Name: 鳴き声鳥 {Nakigoedori ~ Birdsong}
Canon/Custom: Custom.
Rank: D.
Type: Supplementary||Defensive
Element: None.
Range: Hearing (8m effective, 140-degree fan-area in front of the user)
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: 1 post, -5 chakra for an extra post.
Cooldown: Duration +3 posts.
Description: Nothing more than a vocalization of remarkably high audible pitch (3520 Hz), whose volume has been enhanced to just over 125 decibels; it is usable at any time, even when airborne and mobile. This ability's amplified sound is enough to cause pain in the inner ears, breaking the concentration required for techniques (to prepare to cast them, or otherwise). In any case, it merely delays the person from finishing the preparation or prevents them from maintaining concentration as long as they can hear it and are in its effective area. It also prevents those in range from correctly perceiving audio stimuli due to its overpowering noise; a loud sound produced by a higher-rank ability would likely overpower this jutsu. If activated within 4 meters of someone, they are likely to flinch, if only slightly and momentarily, due to the sudden loud sound.
This ability works on all ranks of ninja, as any training to resist such sounds is usually negated by a higher Perception. Ninja with the Deaf Special Characteristic, or those rendered deaf to this sound by another effect or circumstance, are immune to the effects of this ability. Those within 2m upon activation that are normally immune to this jutsu will still flinch due to the vibrations themselves being felt. The user of this jutsu is treated as being Deaf for 2 posts after using this jutsu.
Birdsong can be heard from a great distance from any direction, and works well as a signal. It, however, obviously reveals the user's general location.
Name: 風内野南瓜 [Fūnaiya Kobocha - Wind Country Adamantine Pumpkin]
Type Of Weapon: Ammunition (Thrown)
Rank: C.
Elemental Alignment: None.
Quantity: Two.
Ability/Function: When thrown full-force by a ninja of at least D-3 strength, it causes major bruising around the struck area. Repeated direct hits to the head will cause concussions.
It can be cut or smashed, albeit only partially, by a single strike from an A-rank weapon or basic strike; it is recommended by health professionals to not eat a specimen that has been opened in any form unless the person who prepared it is certified. It causes food poisoning roughly 1-2 hours after ingestion if incorrectly opened, another defense mechanism of this amazing pumpkin.
Appearance: - A green pumpkin, about 50cm x 34cm:
History: A pumpkin grown from the succulent-type plant of the genus
Cucurbita prementium, more colloquially known as the Wind Country Diamond. Its outer rind is exceptionally hard due to its need to survive in the desert. Normal, unaugmented substances such as wood that are found in nature are unable to penetrate it. Prized for its taste, yet is usually toxic if cut incorrectly and ingested. Only licensed chefs in Sunagakure are allowed to prepare this fruit.
Incidentally, Taede found a patch of these whilst wandering in his training. It infuriates him how durable they are.