Her steps were heavy, sloppy, and weak. She couldn’t remember how long she had been walking, or how much blood she’d lost at this point. She was tired, dreary, and all the girl wanted to do was pass out. The world was spinning, and while her makeshift leaf bandage was helping, it wasn’t stopping the bleeding entirely. The road she followed seemed to go on forever, and it seemed to just keep going. She noted that the road began going uphill, and her feet dragged with her steps now as she kept walking. The forehead protector over her right shoulder, the ninja tool pouch at her waist, the horns on her head. It wasn’t hard to tell she was a shinobi, and in truth, she was lucky to be alive as she limped and slogged her way up the road.

In the distance, the amber eyes of the suiton specialist looked to see a gate, in a mountainous area, that seemed akin to a village of some description. It seemed familiar, although how, the wounded Alwen couldn’t recall. Her mind was a daze, and she just needed a place to be. So she kept walking, walking, walking.

The girl had no idea how long it took to reach nearby, and while the roads were still mostly clear, the few people that she saw seemed… Angry, the instant she was seen. Why? Was there something that occurred with this place, which caused such anger? Her mind was too exhausted to get any proper looks at any of them, not knowing any details, just that the atmosphere felt tense. Her mind wandered, thinking back to how she got here. The ship… The ship! There was a storm! Was everyone on the ship alright? Are they alive? What happened to Maigo? Was he safe? What about the mission? The questions raced around her head, furthering her dizziness as she found herself stumbling in her step. This was bad… But, this place would help, right?

She made it to the gates, which, while open, felt almost… Hostile. Something felt odd in this place, as if she wasn’t supposed to be here, and she wasn’t welcome. Alwen swallowed, gulping her nerves as she stepped forwards, into this land of unknowns. Still, she was inside, relatively undisturbed by those around, although to her confusion, it felt like she was being glared at intensively… Shuddering slightly, the suiton specialist made her way to the nearest wall, slumping down against it and gasping for air. Oh, the world was spinning, and not in the good way that it should be. Her heart was racing. She hadn’t lost too much blood, she could still stand after all. But nearly drowning probably didn’t do her any good either.

Shadows flitted in front of her eyes, and drearily, Alwen looked up from her slumped, seated position. Two ninja, the features of which were sort of blurry for her right now, stood in front of her. And the forehead protectors they wore… It certainly explained the situation the girl was in now. The two before her were Kumogakure ninja, the village that Kirigakure had recently invaded. Alwen wasn’t personally a part of it, however knew a lot of the preparation beforehand, and from what she’d heard of the aftermath… Things didn’t go too positively. In her mind, it was great that there were no casualties, and that the Raikage and the Mizukage were alive. She’d heard no news of the specifics however, and was generally in the dark about the whole thing. Not that these strangers would know, or care. One of the two, which had a katana on their back in its sheath, spoke up first. “You’re being very risky to be here, Kiri nin. Especially after all you and your village have done. So, why are you here? To spy on us? To cause further havoc than you’ve already done?”

Dazed, the girl had no clue how to really respond. Still, sitting down was probably not something they’d appreciate. “I… I didn’t mean to be here… Please point me to the nearest hospit-“ her words were cut off as the second ninja grabbed her by the collar, raising her up and pressing her against the wall that she had been using for support. The girl felt her bandage growing loose, and she grew uncomfortable and nervous as the stranger that had spoken first took a step back, clearly startled by his comrade’s sudden violence. “You think I don’t know what you’re trying to do?” spat the one holding her up, tightening his grasp violently and shaking the horned person somewhat. “You’ve got freaking horns, you’re a Kirigakure ninja, and you’re showing up here shortly after your kage threatened ours! You’re lucky we don’t just get you chucked in jail, or interrogated right away.”

The girl felt the blood leave her head, both literally, and in the sense that she had no idea what was going on. She was certainly intimidated, although half of that was due to her being half-conscious. Whatever she’d got herself caught into, it sucked. All she wanted was to not bleed out, get some kind of treatment, and then find out what happened to the boat, and subsequently, her not Kumo related mission. Where did she go wrong? Aside from cluelessly walking into Kumogakure while clearly being a member of the Kirigakure military nation’s ninja force.

900

Lin sat atop a roof. She was on patrol for Kumogakure when she saw the girl trudging up to the gates. The scent of blood hung on her, Lin could tell from the way that she was walking, the way that she held her arm. There was a makeshift bandage from a leaf. She sighed and dropped down from the roof. Two guards had seen her as well, it seemed. She looked on and waited for them to take her to a hospital, or something.

Watching, one of the guards started to point to the girl's chest, and the half-dazed girl looked up at him and mumbled something. The other guard lifted her up and Lin had seen enough. There was a line that she had. She had a short temper, and bullying was her catalyst. She zipped over to the guards, who were at the top tier of Chuunin status. her tonfas clacked together as she caught one below the ribs and then the other that was holding Alwen in the air in the armpit. Both of them looked at her with glares through the pain. She bared her teeth and put her tonfas away, manifesting large cat-paws made of blood-red chakra. The area was lit up by the red chakra, her hands, now paws, flashed in front of her as the paws grew claws, "Get out of here." Lin's eyes were lightning, her voice the crack before the thunder.

The guards scrambled away, she was clearly a kumogakure ninja, with the hitae-ate bearing the kumogakure symbol around her neck. The skin that was enveloped by the paws was losing its skin as though it were peeling off, but Lin didn't seem to notice. Lin looked at the girl with the cut on her arm. The cut was now exposed, and Lin could see that it was fevered. Not a good sign. Most ninjas were taught to stop the bleeding by covering the wound, but more often than not it would just push the infectious materials deeper. Lin would have to burn them out. She took one of her claws and said, "Don't move, or I might hurt you more than I have to." She dug the claw into the arm, going as deep as the bone, making sure that it burned away the infection, burned away the pus, burned away the clots.

The pain would probably be excrutiating, but Lin's hands turned into paws of teal now, the claws disappearing. The teal chakra would heal the wound, if Alwen would allow for it to. The wound closing with rapidity. Lin had been called the "lightning healer" by a missing ninja called Tsuyo before. He was amazed with her healing abilities, and she had only grown stronger from then on. She was one of the top medical shinobi in the village now. She didn't know of anyone that had a stronger set of medical ninjutsu.

"I'm Lin." She stated, focusing on the cut, her own skin on her hands regrowing at the same time. The chakra was enveloping her, so it made sense that it would do harm to her if she used it offensively. She was a guanyin, and her signature move was to use medical ninjutsu offensively. It was a good way to clean wounds as well, but she was merciless when it came to fights. Better to end it quickly and heal the wounds given later, rather than slowly and have the person suffer. "Put that stupid thing away," Lin growled, more from the pain in her own hands than anything, though it could be construed as hating the kirigakure symbol.

"Second Kirigakure ninja in a week... Sheesh." She mumbled to herself, loud enough for Alwen to hear if she wanted to. Lin was wearing her kumogakure outfit, her hair pulled back into three french braids that met to a braid in the back. She had a scar that travelled from her hairline, across her right eye, and down into her shirt. The tonfas that she had clattered at her side, and a pouch of senbon was on her left hip. She was in her full gear. It was unusual for her to be guarding the gates, but that was the orders that she had for the time being. A hurt person, no matter the village, was a higher priority though. And this girl, she was not in any condition to attack Lin.

WC: 763

Jutsu Used: Chakra remaining: 230:

Jutsu Modified by:

Guanyin Reversal Technique:

It all seemed rather instant to the dazed chuunin. One second she was being held to the wall. The next, the two that had approached her were gone. Through blurry eyes she looked, not entirely aware of what the stranger was saying. It sounded vague, and the stranger sounded angry. Still, even through the daze she was in, Alwen could see the light glowing red in the corner of her eyes. A jutsu of some form? Deciding she could probably do with putting the energy into focusing, the girl screwed her eyes shut for a moment, slumping against the wall again for a moment as she strained to keep herself awake and focused. The details of the person became more apparent; another Kumogakure ninja, who was probably more angry than the last two. Red chakra flared at her hands. And one of those claws moved to Alwen’s arm, with the angry Kumo ninja declaring for her to not move. A somewhat meek obedience followed from Alwen – she wasn’t exactly in a position to decline or refuse such a thing, no matter how much she thought it looked odd – Ow!

She winced, gritting her teeth, too tired and in too much pain to scream as her other arm gripped at the wall, desperate for any form of pain relief from the sudden burning, the sudden touch of chakra to her bone. The dizziness intensified as pain became the only thing she could feel, with no senses working for her other than touch. The feeling of pure energy, burning away and destroying at her down to the bone, while conscious. Tears welled in her eyes, Alwen blinking constantly to try get rid of them. It was all she could do to stay conscious, and not let her legs fail beneath her. Yet then, the feeling felt… Familiar. Medical ninjutsu, something Alwen was familiar with. At the very least, that type of chakra, acting upon the wound that was only furthered by the burning agony.

The person stated their name, hand still at her arm. It barely registered, but it registered regardless, Alwen making a note of the name. Lin. A brief name, and she noted that they didn’t give any further details of introduction. Although, perhaps the next statement, equally angry, from this Lin, would suggest or explain why. The Kirigakure symbol. Furthermore, it appeared Alwen wasn’t the only Kirigakure ninja in this place right now, or at least, not the only one this Lin had met… She wasn’t sure if she was comforted by that thought, or worried. What state was this other Kiri nin in? And furthermore… Yes, it got through her head now. Due to village relations that she didn’t understand, Alwen was a villain here. She couldn’t say she was surprised by being threatened upon arrival, or treated with disdain upon an instant. Her heart sank as a feeling of abysmal loneliness wracked her mind, giving her a weight in her stomach. For the first time in a long, long time, Alwen felt alone in the world. She looked to the person somewhat, still injured at the head and likely with a concussion, but it wasn’t an excuse to not take in details about this stranger. A scar ran down her face, over her eye… Alwen couldn’t help but wonder the specifics, but, curiosity on someone else’s story was not a good thing in this world.

Alwen simply stayed there though, keeping still and obedient. Whoever this was, they belonged to this village, and Alwen was her enemy. For all intents and purposes, Alwen could die here. Or be arrested. The forehead protector, the horns… She was just a giant target, and all of this village had an arrow knocked and ready. Voice quiet, and shaky with emotion that a shinobi should hide, she spoke up. “A-Alwen… Um… Thank you…” she muttered, trying to ignore the pain and focus entirely on this individual. The Sangotatsu girl, was at the medic’s mercy.

663 + 900 = 1563

"Well, A-Alwen." Lin stated, "You need to make sure that you put that Hitae-ate away. There are people here who are not nearly as forgiving as I am to strangers, and Kiri ninjas." Lin looked for other outward injuries, and remembering Satoshi, she placed one of the kitty-paws on Alwen's head, the teal light engulfing her for a while. "Wearing a Kirigakure Hitae-ate into Kumogakure and at this hour, you are likely to get killed on sight. If you're here for a peace offering, I would have thought that you might have made yourself a bit less... fragile." She sighed, "Or perhaps you were ambushed before you got here. That is the way of the stupid ninja world." She grumbled.

Lin, as most people in the village knew, wasn't above saying that other ninjas were stupid, bullies, or the like even if they were many ranks above her. She had received broken bones, scars, and had even lost the use of her legs once from doing so, but she continued to do it. She was Kumogakure's finest Medical Ninja, but she just considered herself Kumogakure's finest medic. Sure, she could be scary when she needed to be, but she didn't hurt people without a good reason, and she returned them to their original state more or less soon after she was done with someone. Speaking of...

The teal chakra engulfed the wound, finally closing it, and Lin sighed with relief. There wasn't even a mark left over. Lin released the Teal chakra from both the head and the arm of the girl and smiled, "Now, once you have put that Hitae-ate away, I'll take you to somewhere where I am sure you can spend the night. You have Ryo right?" She tilted her head.

WC: 1085 ((sorry for the short post, but I thought that Alwen would like to react :) ))

The words of the grumpy, silver haired shinobi made sense, even to the woozy Alwen. Given Kirigakure’s invasion of Kumogakure, it was no wonder that they were violent, although the idea that she would be killed on sight seemed to suggest an emphasis of how severe things went over here in the land of lightning. From what Alwen had heard, the Mizukage had thought it went well, and that those of Kirigakure were going to war for a just cause, and to aid both Kiri and Kumo ninja. Yet, here was proof that Kirigakure wasn’t liked at all by Kumogakure, and just how severely the relations had fallen. Still, Alwen waited for the woman to finish speaking and healing, somewhat less disoriented now than she was prior, as the wounds were sealed up by medical chakra.

As Lin stepped back, Alwen moved her left arm to her right shoulder, removing the forehead protector, before carefully sliding it into her weapon pouch, sighing lightly. “Thank you…” she said simply, putting a hand to her head, which as one would expect, still left a headache. Still, Alwen straightened up, before bowing to the medic in appreciation. “And it’s… Just Alwen…” she stated as a correction, regaining her posture and composure. Her amber eyes stared directly at Lin for a moment, almost as if trying to figure out her angle, before she shrugged, and quietly stated. “I’m going to do the transformation technique now, to hide my horns.”

Provided Lin did nothing to stop her, Alwen would then proceed to do so, poofing in the way the transformation technique did, and then ending up exactly the same as she was before, however with the lack of horns atop her head. She then tapped her weapons pouch, as if checking for something, before nodding. “Yeah, I’ve got ryo… I’d also like to correct you and say I didn’t mean to be here, nor was I ambushed…” To Alwen, the situation sucked. She was still groggy from being injured and shouted at, and here she was, alone, relatively unarmed, in the middle of a hostile Kumogakure, with a medical ninja who could very easily kill Alwen, or turn her into the authorities. In her mind, now was the time for obedience, and just hoping to get out alive. And so, with a deep breath, the suiton specialist steadied herself, getting a quick look around, before bowing again. “Please lead on, miss Lin person. I… Kind of don’t want to die, if that’s alright.” She stated almost matter of factly, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, and hoping that being so blunt would lower the tension somewhat. Dying was kind of bad after all, so, it wasn’t a thing that Alwen was aiming for. Especially before she could really do anything of note.

468 + 1563 = 2031

Chakra: 185/190 (-5 for transformation technique (If used. If Lin stopped her, then, ignore)) (Also, chakra is at -10 due to not being in Kirigakure, a clan drawback)

Jutsu used:

Lin sighed, and listened to the girl, "What happened to your arm then?" She questioned, "And why did you put a leaf over it? I had to burn away all of the infectious materials from it." She sighed, "And yes, I probably overdid it." She placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight from her left to her right foot. It was a move that her mother had done many a time before, and she did it now when she was trying to make a statement stick, "We'll put you up in a hotel, and I'll give you my address so if you need to talk to anyone or call on anyone for help you can ask me. Oh, and I would make sure that your henge," She pointed to the non-existent horns, "Stays up around other shinobi, others aren't really as forgiving as me here. As for why I kicked the guards away from you, I don't like bullying." She flashed a smile to Alwen, whether the girl would take it as predatory or as kind, she didn't know.

She walked in front of the girl, obviously a ninja, but obviously not as skilled as she would have thought that a spy would be. The sky started to turn grey by the time that they made it to the hotel, and it started to drizzle when they ducked into the front door. The bell clinked against the door as they entered, and Lin looked at the hotel manager, then back to Alwen, "This is where I put up Maigo," She explained, "When he came to the village, I am sure that you can stay here for a while. Until you're back on your feet that is. If you would like, we can go to your room and I can heal any residual pain that you have there. I would also like to make sure that I did a thorough job with your arm. We had to leave in a hurry because of those guards, they would have sounded the alarm and will probably still be looking for you." She considered the smallish female, almost her height and smiled, this time it was genuine and warm, "But all in all, I am glad that you mistakenly came to Kumogakure, you seem like a good girl and you broke the monotony.

WC: 1508

Well, this would be embarrassing. Alwen rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, laughing silently as Lin asked what happened. Shrugging, she just spoke plainly, seemingly flustered about it and making sure to look away. “Well… I was on a boat down the south of Mizu no Kuni, and the sea got rough… I… May or may not have fell overboard and got hurt. When I woke up, I was on the shore, alone, and injured. My clothes aren’t made of the most… Practical emergency fabric, so, I made do with the longest leaf I could find, and followed the road. Ended up in Kumo, and you know the rest. I know it wasn’t the best choice in material, but, I thought I was stranded on an island, and still feel dizzy so… Infection was the last thing on my mind.” She sighed, falling quiet and continuing to walk along, following Lin, and not really thinking anything of the gesture of smiling – to her, she was in hostile territory, and far too tense to take note of a smile.

After however long the walk ended up being, they arrived to the place that Lin seemed to have in mind, walking through the doors before it began to rain. Her thoughts, which had been on survival thus far, suddenly shifted as Lin spoke a name that rang more bells than the door that opened. Absently listening to Lin, the name ran around in her mind for a moment. “Maigo…” she muttered under her breath, before continuing to listen, allowing the Kumogakure shinobi to finish what she was saying. Given what Lin stated, Alwen was glad to be out of the streets, and she agreed entirely about keeping the henge up – horns were a bit of a give away to not being a simple civilian.

Allowing Lin to say her piece, Alwen then spoke up quietly. “Maigo… The Mugetsu? Black hair, a pervert, kind of an idiot?” there was no way this was happening. This was so strange… So… Odd and off, and Alwen suddenly felt a shiver down her spine, and the fatigue of the day striking down, beating on her like a hammer. “He was why I was on the boat… We were on a mission together… Is… Is he alive? Is he safe? Is he still here? Why is he in Kumo, the mission was in the land of water?” the world felt like it was spinning once again, and all of the questions in her mind seemed suddenly overwhelming. For the first time in her life, Alwen was away from the land of water, and the entirely different atmosphere made her feel sick to her stomach. Perhaps she was wrong, and misunderstanding the situation – perhaps Maigo wasn’t here, and was looking for her in the land of water, or completing the mission. That had to be it. He wouldn’t know to look for her in the land of lightning, so, why would he possibly be here. Her hand went to her head. Thinking about this stuff hurt.

Alwen fumbled her hand in her weapons pouch, grabbing some ryo and sighing quietly. “So… How much?” she asked simply. Right now, she just wanted little more than to just… Forget everything, and rest. Is this the sort of stuff Yasuhiro would have had to put up with had he made it this far?

563 + 2031 = 2594

Lin listened to Alwen talk to her about how she had come across these unfortunate events. It at least made sense why she used a dirty leaf, but Lin wouldn't have. Then again, this girl probably didn't have a way to heal herself like Lin had done. "For what it's worth, I didn't mean to cause you as much pain as I did. I felt about the same pain, because, well, when I use that technique, it burns my hands as well." She looked at her hands and sighed, "It's a technique that is used by the Guanyin to harm people, but I usually just use it as a scare tactic, or to burn out the infection from a wound."

She looked outside, it was really coming down and lightning flashed across the sky. She looked back to Alwen as she asked about Maigo, "I don't know his full name. But he is staying in this hotel with you. Well, not with you, but I put him up here when he came after our date. Anyhow, I don't think that he is the Maigo that you know, as he isn't a pervert, or at least he wasn't on our date. Ummm, as to what he's doing here, I don't really know." She shrugged and smiled at Alwen. It wasn't a "I don't know what's going on" smile, but more of a "I really don't want to be a part of this". She had enough problems with her last... er... boyfriend. Dameon hadn't talked with her in a while and she had thought that he had called it off. And for all she knew he was dead or in the land of water.

It seemed as though she had a thing for people from the land of water, but it didn't matter. Well, their nationality didn't. She tilted her head and scratched it a bit at the mention of how much it was.

The man behind the counter, reading a newspaper looked sideways past it at her. He didn't take his feet off of the desk, and he leaned back, grabbing a key, "For two beds, 40 ryo a night, for one, it's 30." He nodded to the both of them. Kumogakure was not a judging town, and the people there were... well... accustomed to young women sleeping together, or young men, or really any of the youngsters. The older generation just kept out of things now, though about 40-50 years ago, it would have been unheard of.

"Uh we're not-" She started to say and looked at Alwen, and then the man in post-haste.

WC: 1980

Alwen listened and nodded along as Lin explained herself, glancing at her hands as she explained the damage. Still, it wasn’t quite the same amount of pain – Lin likely hadn’t experienced drowning before being stabbed to the bone. Alwen kept that part out from being said aloud. And as Lin explained her putting a Maigo up here, Alwen soon realised it was perhaps a bit hasty for her to assume it was the same one. Plus, it was a risky thing to simply blurt out the name of her mission partner – what if he was arrested recently, or executed? Alwen having ties to that would probably end… Well, terribly. Judging from Lin’s somewhat awkward smile, which Alwen decided to return, it was perhaps a subject best left to the side. Although, still, if it was the same Maigo – why was he on a date with a Kumo ninja, when the two were supposed to be on a mission?

As the duo walked into the hotel, the casual man behind the counter spoke, stating something that took Alwen off guard just as much as it had Lin. She fumbled and stuttered on her words, not sure of what to say to such a blatant misunderstanding of the situation, before picking up where Lin was seemingly struggling to articulate the words. Somewhat unsure of herself, Alwen spoke up. “We’re uh… Just friends. I’m visiting from the, uh, land of snow, and my friend here said she’d show me a place to stay… So… Just a room for one please, and, well, the cheapest room you have, if that’s okay? I’m not one for huge spending…” she rubbed the back of her head, hand running through her hair and touching where she remembered feeling the cold of the stone beaches of the land of lightning. It was still all so surreal, and while she was grateful to Lin for not, well, killing her, and setting her up in a hotel, the whole thing was still just… Uncomfortable for her. The amber of her eyes settled upon the details of the room itself, as Alwen tried desperately to distract herself from over thinking. She could find the Maigo she’d set up, and if it was the same one, then she had a few words to have with him… And answers that she desperately needed, both in terms of the mission, and in other terms. Alwen didn’t want to be clueless.

406 + 2594 = 3000

"Thirty ryo then." The hotel owner said, holding his hand out and reaching for a key. It was dingy, like his hand, though his hands held calluses that a normal hotel owner wouldn't. Lin watched as his hand slowly, well to her at least, snaked to the keys. He had calluses on his palms, right below his fingers and on the side of his thumb, almost as if he were handling a mop or a shovel but his hands moved more dexterously than that of a common sweep or ditch digger. No, these were the hands of someone who had held a sword, or other type of weapon. He flicked the key off of the nail that it was resting on and it clinked against the ring that secured it to the number 18 written in big black letters amidst a plastic yellow tag.

He would flick the key at the girl, Alwen, and hand her a pamphlet, "The pamphlet has all of the information you need just in case there's anything that you want. Room service stops at 9 PM and starts at 8 AM. Breakfast is at 9, lunch you can order to your room at 11. at 12 we start serving tea, and dinner you can order at 7." He ran through them while not taking his eyes off of what he was reading, which Lin thought was extremely rude and smiled to Alwen as he was speaking in a sort of 'sorry...' way. It wasn't like Lin herself was being rude, but she hadn't met this particular man when she brought Maigo to the hotel before, and it wasn't like she wanted to bring Alwen to a bad place. So the smile stayed there, awkwardly on Lin's face until Alwen would say something or do something.

"So here's your room, er... I don't want to intrude, but I would like to do a followup if that is alright. Or I can take you to the hospital to have a second opinion, or I can just tell you where the hospital is." The man behind the desk grunted and flicked the papers so that they stood up straight and concealed his face again. He apparently didn't care what the two did as long as they stopped talking in the lobby.

WC: 2381

Alwen fumbled her hand in her pouch, picking up a few coins and counting them out, before plopping them in the man’s hand, watching the callus covered form grab the keys, and flick them towards Alwen, who caught them in her hand and looked at them for a brief moment before being handed a pamphlet. She scanned the details and information, listening vaguely to what the guy said. Something about times. She simply nodded, before looking away from the pamphlet to Lin, who appeared to be just as not sure of the receptionist as Alwen, who was trying to figure out what was even going on, since, multitasking like reading and listening, was not her strong suit.

Alwen listened then to Lin as she spoke, taking the hint about not continuing this in the lobby, and walking off to find the room with her key number, gesturing for Lin to follow. The door was one of the more… Run down of them doors, but, Alwen didn’t care, simply inserting the key, turning it, and pushing the door open, the wooden entrance creaking with every inch it moved. As she stepped inside, the room was exactly what she’d asked for; cheap, small, and basic. The walls were beige, the paint stripping in several places, and the bed was less than intact, as if the previous renter of the room had perhaps not been careful in the use of the bed. The flooring was wooden, splintering in a variety of places, and all in all, the room didn’t have the nicest appearance – it had a sink, a mirror, a small stool, and the bed, but aside from that, nothing of note – not even space for candle light or window. She sighed, the only source of light being a slight hole in the wall to the outside, and with a shrug, Alwen sat down on the bed, which creaked and strained under being touched.

She sighed, forming a hand seal and, for now at least, undoing the transformation technique, the horns atop her head returning to her. The dragon girl looked up at Lin then, amber taking the time to truly take note of the features of the person, before she shrugged slightly, speaking quietly under her breath. “Thanks by the way. I’d either be dead or in jail if you didn’t step in. Given Kumo’s reputation for having the prison where prisoners die, I’m not sure which is worse. So, thanks.” She nodded, bowing her head towards the medic in appreciation. “So, ready for the check up. I was never good at the medical side of life. Tried it. Didn’t end up doing anything with it though, which, I’m sure shows aha…” she laughed dryly, now staring at the floor. The thought of Maigo being in Kumo still disconcerted her…

468 + 3000 = 3468

"Well, um. Does anywhere hurt that you would like me to look at?" Lin scratched the back of her neck, she felt kind of awkward doing this unprofessionally. She had seen plenty of people for plenty of ailments professionally when she went to the village down by the river of Kumogakure. The tobacco village, run by a man that gave no name but demanded to be called "Obaa-san", was full of people that were constantly getting into trouble with plows, and seeking medical attention for fevers, and other... ailments. This was the first time that she had offered her services to someone who was not a part of the village hidden in the clouds, or Kaminari No Kuni.

She sighed, "If there is, I would like you to show it to me, as direct skin contact is the best way to get rid of whatever is going on." She would use a less advanced healing technique, because there was clearly no damage that required immediate medical attention, but if Alwen was just very good at hiding broken bones... then it might take a bit longer, and be a bit harder to cure her of her wounds, "And if for any reason, you're not comfortable showing me, I can always take you to the hospital." She nodded, giving Alwen a way out of a, potentially embarrassing if it was, situation.

She didn't want to burden the newcomer any more than she had to, but she also tried to extend a friendly smile. " I am sorry for being so gruff earlier, I am terrible at bedside manner, and well, I kindof come off as a bully when I see bullies beating up on someone clearly in a weakened state." The smile turned apologetic. She didn't know what to really do, so she patted her hips with her hands, and let them hang there, waiting for Alwen to make the next move.

WC: 2716

She nodded slowly, listening as Lin asked for any locations where Alwen was still in pain. The horned person was, but, as Lin kept talking and apologising for her behaviour earlier, Alwen just kept listening. As it turned out, the anger wasn’t meant to be directed at Alwen, something which, upon hearing, she let out a sigh of relief at – there couldn’t be much worse than getting enemies as soon as you walk in through a gate. And honestly, she had to admit, it was nice to hear that Lin wasn’t the sort of person to condone violence against the weak, even if the weak was an enemy. Not picking on others was something Alwen could get behind, and given that in this instance, she was the weak one, she was glad to not be dead in a ditch.

Still, once Lin finished, Alwen let her transformation wear off in a poof, the horns returning to her as she pointed up to the rightmost one with a hand. The horn was small, and nub like, clearly only a couple inches, blunt at the top, and ringed like one would imagine on an antelope. Quietly, Alwen spoke up, rubbing a hand against the horn. “I think I chipped it on a rock or something… Not sure, but, my head hurts, and so does the horn.” She sighed, before smiling. “I don’t expect you to do anything to heal the horn, don’t worry. I know it’s not expected anatomy for, well, anyone really, so, I’m fine with letting that heal, but, I think I hit my head when I fell off the boat… In fact, I’m sure I did. I pride myself in my use of Suiton, so, I don’t think I’d have nearly drowned if I was conscious.” She shrugged slightly, before looking to Lin, and awaiting a response, feeling odd with being the patient to someone in a hotel room at a foreign village.

Life was strange some times.

329 + 3468 = 3797

Lin nodded, "I'm not familiar with the horns, but I can see if I can help with that." She weaved some hand signs and a long needle appeared in her hands, it was a teal color and she touched it to the horn. About half of the needle was absorbed, and the horn glowed the same color as the needle. Lin concentrated on making it look identical to the one on the left side, only a reflection. The horn grew slowly, but surely, finally returning itself to its former glory. The rest of the chakra-needle Lin touched to the head of the smaller shinobi girl, watching as it was absorbed into the girl and filled the place where she had indicated she had a headache.

This was a guanyin technique, one of her clan, well, her mother's clan that was. It not only healed wounds, but a master of the technique could regrow organs, limbs, and some were rumored to be able to bring the dead back to the realm of the living. Lin, however, could regrow about... probably an inch of living tissue, could sew wounds shut with chakra, and could make fractures in bone and similar substances disappear. It took all of her concentration for about 20 seconds to do it, and a considerable amount of chakra, but she did it to the best of her ability.

"Err, you should look in a mirror and see if I did it right. I didn't get a chance to see you before I did this, so I might have messed it up, but we'll see. How's the headache?" She tilted her head and stepped back to let Alwen in to a mirror or something like that. She didn't know what else to really do at the moment, and there wasn't any external signs of anything. She really needed to develop a technique to see the internal bleeding/stress to be able to heal that. Well, that she would add to her list.

Chakra remaining 190: Jutsus used::

Alwen watched as Lin created a needle seemingly out of pure chakra, a medical technique no doubt. She closed her eyes as the thin creation went towards her horn, expecting more pain like the red searing that went through her arm prior. Instead however, Alwen was pleasantly surprised to find it did no such thing, although the feeling of her own cells growing created as the small chips in her horn healed over, and the slight cut on her head healed was… Odd, to say the least. But, she couldn’t complain about having a medic help her. Lin wasn’t going to charge for this, right? Alwen could probably afford the healing, but, maybe not long term staying in Kumo and the healing…

As Lin suggested she look in a mirror, Alwen nodded, getting up slowly and carefully, before walking over to the sink and wall mounted mirror, looking in it for a moment and shifting her head from side to side. The horn was… Slightly different, but, not so much that it was horribly noticeable, and if Alwen had to guess, it’d grow out anyways. “The headache’s fine. Just… Gonna need to sleep some of this stuff off I think.” She put a hand to her head, shifting it through the hair and feeling for any signs of scarring, before shrugging, and turning back to face Lin. “Once again, thanks so much for the help. I think I’m going to stick around here to try find Maigo and see what is going on. When I last saw him, he was supposed to be down south with me so… Yeah. I owe you one, you pretty much saved my life, so, if you ever need a friend to call on, just find good old Alwen!” she grinned, pointing to herself with a nod, before sitting back down on the bed, rubbing her eyes. “But yeah. As much as I’m a bit home sick, and… Nervous, I might stick around until everything is sorted. Oh, so long as you’re okay with that. If you want to throw me out of the village as soon as possible, I’ll completely understand!” she laughed somewhat nervously, fully aware she didn’t have much say in the matter.

371 + 3797 = 4168

Lin watched Alwen as she went to the mirror, she hadn't really studied the girl before this, more of she just looked for wounds, making sure that she was doing her job as a medical ninja. There was something about her that she couldn't put her finger on. The girl seemed, well, she seemed a bit wilder than she was used to Shinobi looking. She had seen plenty of people with highlights, but this girl had two colors in her hair, both blue and purple. Her horns weren't anything special looking, but when she said that they were a part of her normal anatomy, that threw Lin for a loop. Really it was the subtleties of her differences that made it hard for Lin to reconcile that this girl was a shinobi.

She had, apparently, never heard of snow, and up here in the mountains there was as good a chance as any to get about a foot of the stuff, even in summer. She tilted her head and shook it as Alwen asked her permission to stay within Kumogakure. What was she? The Raikage?! "I don't think that I can make that sort of call. As long as you are not like... running through the streets breaking laws and killing people... I think that you can stay here as long as you want." She scratched the back of her neck and laughed nervously. She wasn't qualified to let her stay, but wasn't qualified to throw her out either. So she felt awkward, and her stance proved that. Her legs closed tight in on themselves and she held her hands together in front of them, making herself as small as possible unconsciously.

So, there were two people in the room that really didn't have much say as to whether Alwen stayed. She took an intake of breath through her teeth, trying to break the mood. "You should go shopping, I could show you shops later on if you would like. I have a kitty at home, Gora, that needs to be fed." She interrupted her own train of thought, "But we could go and get you some warmer clothing, and perhaps some other pieces of clothing, and basic needs tomorrow morning if you would like. As for right now, I'll see if I can run home and grab a coat for you to borrow. Does that sound alright?" It was weird, but Lin was warming up to this girl surprisingly fast.

WC: 3486

Lin didn’t seem to mind Alwen being in Kumo. That was handy and, well, relieving to hear. So long as she behaved, she was allowed to stay… Something that she was a fan of the concept of. After all, Alwen had no intention on worsening relations, or attacking anyone. She wasn’t the biggest for combat anyway, preferring diplomacy, so, there was no way she’d attack shinobi of Kumogakure unless needing to for the sake of her safety – and she would never attack an innocent civilian anywhere. So, she just listened and nodded. So, here were two people in a room, neither of which were in a position to say for certain that the circumstances were okay. Still, if nothing else, it was reassuring that she didn’t immediately want Alwen out of the country. Drowning kind of took a lot out of her, and she was far from home for the first time in her life. The recovery would be something Alwen took slowly.

At Lin’s next suggestion, however, the dragon girl would be somewhat surprised. Shopping? She had ryo but… Well, she hadn’t thought about it. It was true though, she didn’t have appropriate clothes, or a change of clothes… Just the attire that she wore on her mission, which, would not last well given the trip over, and also would likely just seem… Suspicious. It was ninja gear after all. As Lin finished with her suggestion, Alwen smiled lightly, and nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Although I think I can do without a coat. I don’t need to worry about rain. Still, if you’re willing to take me out shopping… Well, thanks, seriously. I couldn’t have run into a better person when I got here it seems. So, yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow morning I guess? I’ll wait for you in the reception of the hotel. Seriously though, thanks again! And if there’s anything else before you go, or you have anything you need a suiton specialist for, let me know!” she nodded, smiling.

If there was nothing else Lin had to say or needed, Alwen would move over to the bed, and just… Plop herself down, waving lazily from the somewhat dated mattress. “Say hi to your kitty for me!” she said with a grin, making sure to, at the very least, look at the person who’d pretty much stopped Alwen from dying. A new friend.

400 + 4168 = 4568

(OOC: Sorry for the delay @.@ I’m trying to get back into posting, and I thought I’d start with this one since it’s a much easier, and lighter thread than the others, plus it’s a shorter post. Sorry for the delay, and feel free to exit in your next post. If anyone sees this and wonders why I’ve not done their post first: I’ll get on it after this! I just needed to start light.)

"Tomorrow Morning it is!" Lin giggled, and opened the door, lingering in the doorway for a moment, looking at the girl, she hesitated. She listened to Alwen for the specialist, it actually sounded like a good idea. She could train with Alwen. She had never had a sparring partner that was a Suiton user. Perhaps she could... perhaps she could spar with her sometime. But that would have to be after the shopping. The girl had refused a coat, which bewildered Lin, "The coat is more for... more for the snow that we get most times of the year than anything else. And we could probably find you a really cute one." she added on almost as an afterthought. She looked Alwen up and down, "And we could even match your style, I know of a good seamster. I might take the Maigo that I know to him for the festival that is three days hence." She smiled and giggled.

She nodded to the girl when she said to say hi to her kitty for her. "I could bring her shopping with us tomorrow, but she's a bit shy of people, and for some reason people seem to avoid her. I think they might be allergic or something." She gave an innocent shrug. In reality, Gora absolutely terrified the villagers of Kumogakure no Sato. And Lin was just a bit... a bit blind to it. The only reason that the people allowed her to be in the city at all was because she was Lin's pet. But if a 400 pound Panther had been a part of the crowd of Kumogakure without Lin's presence, it would probably be beaten with sticks and driven out of town, or assumed to be a murderous animal.

She tilted her head to Alwen and asked one more thing before heading out of the door, "So do you want me to... er... send up the owner so that you can get something to eat or something?" She was trying to be hospitable, but she didn't own the hotel, nor did she run any sort of catering service, so she was at a loss of what to do. She also wondered if she was being treasonous just by accepting a Kirigakure no Sato Ninja into Kumogakure without explicit permission from the Raikage. Meh. He could go boil his head if he wanted to argue with her. Well, to tell the truth, he would probably try to boil Lin's head. That was a scary thought.

Oh well. She shrugged to herself and let Alwen answer, before heading out. She would alert the man to the need that Alwen had if Alwen did indeed need him, but if she did not, she would make a mental plan to be there in the morning. She hadn't set a time, but she knew where to find Alwen. She looked up into the night sky and sighed. It was a brisk night, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up with her panther. She should really go and talk to the guards that she scared though. It was a bad thing that she had yelled at them. Even worse that she had threatened them. What was happening to her? She would not have done that a year ago. Perhaps she was... perhaps she was changing in unexpected ways. She clenched her fist and nodded to herself, running off to find the guards.

WC: 4079

|EXIT THREAD|

Training: Name: Medical Jutsu: Cat’s Roar
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: A
Type: Supplementary
Element: N/a
Range: 20m radius
Specialty: Medical Ninjutsu / Ninjutsu
Duration: Instantaneous
Cooldown: 9 posts
Description: The user creates a set of 8 hand seals before focusing chakra into their hyoid bone. The user has a teal chakra that comes from the mouth, much like a Katon jutsu. This expands from the user’s mouth in a 90 degree cone up to 20 meters. The user's mouth being about 3-4 centimeters in diameter, and expanding gradually from there. At 1 meter, it has the radius of 1 meter and can most likely hit only one subject. At 4 meters, the cone has a radius of 4 meters, and can hit up to 3 people. At 20 meters the cone has a radius of 10 meters, and is capable of hitting up to 5 or maybe 6 people. People caught within 1 meter have all tissue damage up to shattered bones, major 3rd-degree and possibly even 4th-degree tissue damage healed. Within 4 meters, 2-3 inch cuts, broken bones (from concussive force), major 2nd/minor 3rd Degree tissue damage. From 4 meters to 20 meters, the jutsu heals 1-1½ inch cuts, major external bruising green sticks (hairline fractures), or major 1st/minor 2nd degree tissue damage. This cannot restore limbs that are unattached at the time this jutsu is used. This cannot heal the user. The speed of this jutsu’s expansion is 35 m/s.

Name: Cat’s Smell: Sensory Jutsu
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: A
Type: Supplementary
Element: N/A
Range: 200 Meter radius
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: 5 posts (-10 chakra per post)
Cooldown: 2X duration
Description: The user creates the tiger, rat, and then ram signs and then clasps their nose with one of their hands. From then on, up to 5 posts thence, they may smell anyone within a 200 meter radius. This, when used multiple times, around those that the user knows allows for the user to distinguish ally from enemy. Thus, making sure that when their sight or hearing is hampered, they do not attack their allies by mistake.

Leftover words: 79

Alwen nodded simply at Lin’s statement that it would be the next morning that they’d meet up again. As the other girl nodded and opened the door, Alwen would simply keep watching somewhat quiet from exhaustion of the day. At the thought of perhaps a cute coat, Alwen simply kept nodding. That seemed like a good plan, and, given the appearance the scarred shinobi had, perhaps it would be a nice idea. Just… Some normality in a complete abnormal place, for an abnormal person. Plus, coming from a place with a higher salt content in the air, the thought of snow wasn’t something that crossed the horned girls mind, and was probably something she should prepare for.

As she mentioned the name Maigo again, Alwen’s thoughts drifted for a moment. Her squad leader, the one she was on a mission with… Was he okay? Safe? What about those on the boat? The ones at the village they were supposed to visit? The distress beacon? It all made her head dizzy, and she found herself squinting somewhat for a moment before allowing the thoughts to simply move on from her head. She couldn’t just dwell on them, especially while still in company.

Lin then proceeded to talk a bit more about her kitten, suggesting that she might bring the feline with her to the shops tomorrow. A nice thought, and again, gave a sense of normality and life that the horned girl desperately needed. Plus, the animal just sounded adorable! It was shy of people? Alwen simply hoped that didn’t mean taking it out would cause the creature discomfort… Plus, it was odd that people would avoid it… Not that many people were allergic to cats, right? Unless that was a thing about Kumogakure no Sato, for the dragon child hadn’t been here long enough to know the answer to such. Maybe it was just a mystery, or a cultural difference. Like how most Kirigakure no Sato shinobi were allergic to the idea of modesty, or to diplomacy.

“Ah! Uh, no thanks… I, um, I’m not really feeling hungry right now… Not got an appetite, probably just too stressed to eat… I think I’ll just sleep… Thank you for the offer though!” she exclaimed as Lin offered to go downstairs and ask for someone to come up and provide Alwen with food. In reality, she did not want to eat, and truly didn’t have an appetite, but furthermore, she didn’t want to use the transformation technique again. This place was… Tiring to be in. Not enough water. Too harsh. She didn’t want to spend any unwanted energy, and to make it more, she just wanted to be herself, just for a little longer. She was born with horns. She didn’t want to hide them from herself.

As Lin turned to leave, Alwen smiled and waved, before standing up, and shutting the door behind her out of a desire to be well mannered. In this case, Lin was almost like a superior, and so Alwen felt a need to be… Respectful, as much as she could anyways. After that, the girl would simply walk back over to the bed, and collapse, chest heaving with her breath heavy. There was so much to take in. So much to think about. She found tears welling up in her eyes as her thoughts turned to that of home. Her mother… Was her mother going to be safe? Was her mother safe now? Did Kirigakure no Sato think her dead, and tell thus to her mother? Alwen was sure that further bad news to the frail woman would surely be her demise, as it was the elderly mother could hardly eat, or move.

And then, further placing uncomfortable images in her head, Alwen once more thought of the mission. The distress beacon from the village south of the land of water. If a distress call came from the village, it meant something happened, something big. Were the children, and the villagers in general, safe? The idea that bloodshed occurred and Alwen wasn’t there to stop it… She felt shattered, and emotionally, couldn’t handle the idea, finding no comfort in her isolated state in the mountain village of clouds. She shifted, rolling back and forth repeatedly trying to find comfort on the bed where there was none, tears blurring her vision and rolling off her cheeks and onto the bed, the water clear like crystals. Curling up, the girl eventually gave up on comfort, and from the stress of the day that had just happened, she sank into a sleep, too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

770 + 4568 = 5338

[EXIT]

Training!: