Julius waited on the road outside where their 'home base' was located. Not that either he nor anyone else had planned their home to be located there. Tactically it wasn't easy to defend but at least it wasn't easily spotted. A nice treeline hid the ship itself from the main road. It could have been far worse than it had been. For now Julius was standing near a farmer preparing his cart of vegetables and eggs being pulled by two horses for travel. Cleo was not a fan of walking to anywhere so he had arranged a bit of a ride for them. On the back of a farmers cart but it was free so he wasn't complaining. Today in return for him offering to 'guard the cart' on its travel to market they would have a ride there and back.

For the moment he was outside of his uniform not wishing to be confronted in any way for the day. He stood tall wearing his blue jeans and black polished boots with a dark grey t shirt over his top. A black watch on his right wrist with a digital read out. The time stating 10:02 A.M. If nothing else Julius was punctual as well as organized. He looked so common place though he had to demonstrate some chakra use in order to get hired by the cart driver. He didn't expect any trouble but the farmer did appreciate the extra protection. For now Julius was reviewing the map the man had provided him. Concentrating on their own location in comparison to the village and the resort they were going to.

He paused in his musings only to glance up as the farmer slapped the side of his cart a couple of times to indicate he was finished. He looked to Julius expectantly a moment before Julius would sigh and smile. Bowing his head slightly. "My partner will be here shortly sir. Just another couple of minutes if you please." The farmer would grunt in acknowledgement before finding his seat at the reigns anyway. Julius would fold the map then and glance his blue eyes to the path leading into the forest expectantly. The path difficult to see but the only one leading to the ship. They were going out for a cooked meal for the day to keep their nutrition levels up. Seeing one of the worlds largest waterfalls might be interesting to.

Cleo was mess as usual in the wee early hours of mid morning. She sat on the ground beside the bed having tumbled there after a rather violent battle with her sheets and glared at her legs in the hopes that they would obey her autonomously with her having to actually do anything. They twitched under her stern gaze, but that was only the remnants of her sleeping nerves coming back to life and not any sentient desire to be obedient to her whims. She ripped the sheets off of her in a huff and climbed sleepily to her feet, walked over to her foot locker and grabbed some clothing at random; a pair of dark leggings with a short blue skirt over top, a blue t-shirt and a plain gray zip up hoodie. Running a brush through her long black hair she tied a small braid into the left side of it with some gold ribbon, her one nod to her family name. She put her belt on underneath her hoodie with a kunai strapped to either hip and slipping into her boots ran out the cabin door. Looking around outside she spotted the foot path near their crashed ship, fortunately they were tucked away back here away from prying eyes, but that also meant that they had to walk pretty much everywhere which she hated. With a sigh she started walking, it was a huge bother, but if Julius could do it then so could she. Along the way she picked up some flowers and pretty bits of plants, she figured that if Julius didn’t want them then she could always set them on fire when she got so bored she wanted to actually stab her own eyes out.

She was excited to see Kumogakure no Sato, and she was famished. They had rations aboard their ship, but a hot and fresh meal was in order and one that neither of them had to cook was all the better. She hurried along knowing she was late, and that Julius by now was probably tapping his foot and wondering what was keeping her, again. She ran through a list of excuses in her head as she ran progressively faster along the path, while keeping an eye out for tree roots and loose rocks. “Well Julius, there was just no way that I could get here any faster, because I didn’t fucking feel like it.” She wasn’t in the habit of lying to her brother, not that he’d believe her anyway, but she didn’t want to lie to him. She laughed out loud as she would sprint around a bend and into sight of Julius and a farmer both standing by a cart. Cleo went straight for Julius, seeing as he knew what was going on. She would slow to a more reasonable pace as she approached her brother, a sweet smile on her face and a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. “Hello Julius, sorry to keep you waiting for so long. This our ride?”

512

Truthfully Julius wanted today to happen just as much as he supposed she did. He was tired of fruit and dried meats. All their meals cold so as not to attract attention with either smoke or a fire. For an actual cooked meal he was highly interested in a rather simple dish. Some stir fried rice and perhaps some sweet and sour chicken. Or even better some teriyaki pork. He could almost taste it already and his mouth was salivating at the thought of being full. Of course without their uniforms they would be acting as common civilians or tourists at best. Even on their own time they would be getting a lay of the surrounding land. Finding out how people moved and acted and feeling out any details they should no without appearing as an outsider. People were often not as willing to provide information to armed mercenaries as they were to traveling siblings. Of course he wouldn't be requesting as much from his dear sister. She was far more direct than he was. If someone appeared to be withholding information from her when she wanted it they would regret it quickly. Julius was rather hoping today she would relax. The less blood spilled the better.

At best she might not even notice the impatient farmer eager to make a delivery and make some sales. If nothing else at the very least he needed her not to try and renegotiate the deal Julius had cut with the man. There wasn't much in the way of reported bandit activity on this stretch so getting a free ride was nice enough. If she tried to get paid or made threats they might not even get that much or worse, their descriptions would be handed to the guards as a hostile element. Being as Julius was not yet ready for them to stick their heads out in the village yet beyond the norm he was eager to avoid any such confrontation. Of course his breath was unlikely to be wasted. She hated walking long distances for anything and usually trusted the day to day work with him. Of course he also held onto the coin to prevent any unwanted spending such as filling the cabin with weapons and such unsightly things. Speaking of. He had high hopes that today wouldn't show her coming out of the woods armed to the teeth as she had been for the missions.

Still he recalled the age old days when they were children. His practices and studies were so much different from hers. He recalled how heavily their father had prefered spending time with her and it had been odd to him. He had never felt a sense of jealousy but simply concern for her. After all she was the favored daughter of a man willing to sell their lives for coin. Still as she had practiced the bow and launching her chakra violently outwards his studies had been towards the paperwork and calculations. Studying tried and tested tactics. His love for reading came from the simple fact that he had only ever had that for entertainment. The better he was at it the better his sister and he were treated. He even balanced the books back home a couple of times. All his chakra practices though brought back memories of pain. Having to hold up barriers against jutsu their father continously threw at him. Forcing him time and time again to struggle just to keep from getting burned or cut. Most of his medical knowledge came from treating his own minor injuries. Life away from all the training was proving to be rather relaxing in light of those memories. Not that she had it much easier than he did. He had treated blisters on her fingers to the point of bleeding. Her temper was gained from their father and both of them had felt the sting of his hand before. Julius would do his job if only to accomplish one goal. To keep their father away from both of them.

Still once more his sister would come bursting from the brush like she had a fire lit behind her. It was nice to see her in civilian clothes and what was even better was he couldn't see a single weapon on her. Basic shoes and leggings with a blue skirt and as far as he could tell a hoody since even he couldn't see under it. Not that he had any interest in trying. It wasn't exactly cold to him but he wouldn't judge he choice of clothing. Women usually seemed to be colder than men. The farmer would smile and nod but not seem interested in small talk. Still Julius would note the gold ribbon in her hair and raise an eye brow. He hated the family to a large amount but then again her sense of humor was a little darker than his. He noted the flowers in her hand and would glance at it questioningly. He didn't need herbs as of yet. Still she would ask a question and he would smile before placing an arm over her shoulders and guiding her to the back of the cart where there was a small sitting place just big enough for two.

"Good morning Cleo. This is farmer Ted. Not much of a talker but he agreed to give us transport there and back so long as we offer protection should he need it. I assume that is agreeable?"

Cleo looked down at the flowers and plants in her hand briefly, her eyes following her brothers to the bundle of greenery that she’d forgotten in her excitement. She would bring the makeshift bouquet up and hand it casually over to her brother. “I got these for you, the walk was long and dull. And I thought that if you didn’t want them I could always burn them later.” She would grin at Julius with a twinkle in her eye, there was no doubt he knew she was serious. The mere fact that she hadn’t burnt down the entire forest around their ship was a testament to her self control, and that self control was quickly running its course. She had compromised with Julius in regards to her destructive nature while they were staying on their ship, and had not lit anything on fire. It didn’t feel like a compromise from her point of view though. The deal was, she didn’t light anything on fire, they didn’t get found by the smoke and instead she would just practice her archery. Which had been fun, but not nearly EXPLOSIVE enough for her tastes. Now that they were away from the ship though, all bets were off and fire was on the horizon. She never got tired of it, fire and destruction. Ever since she was small their father had spent as much time as possible teaching her channel not just her chakra, but her frustration and anger into everything she did. And he made sure to give her more than enough reasons to be angry and frustrated. Looking back on it now she sometimes wondered how she had never just hauled off and killed the man for all the shit he put her and Julius through. Mostly Julius. She could fly into a rage like no one else on any given day over any old thing, but when she saw anyone mistreat her brother, it was enough to make her lose her mind. She remembered on more than one occasion seeing Julius tending his own wounds, and it always broke her heart. And when her heart was broken she burned things down. They lost a lot of things that way. Julius was the calmer of the two of them, it was as though all the patience she was supposed to have had been placed in him instead of her. Which is probably why he was better suited to holding barriers up, she would likely get bored part way through a fight and get them both killed.

As Julius put his arm around her she would lean into him briefly in the hopes that he would feel the weaponry she had stashed along hip, not that she believed he doubted she had weapons on her but it was important to her to keep him informed. She allowed herself to be led to the back of the cart and would attempt to clamber up to the small wooden seat while answering her brother cheerfully. “Farmer Ted is it? That seems agreeable enough to me, as long as I don’t have to walk any further I’ll take down a whole army of bandits. There isn’t likely to be an army of bandits though right, that seems pretty bizarre.” She would struggle for a minute more at the cart before kicking at the wheel in frustration, she was far too short to get up there, and wearing a skirt even with leggings wasn’t the best decisions she’d made that morning. She would swear and looked up at her brother with her signature pout and sad eyes that she liked to use when she wanted something that wasn’t terribly important and was feeling particularly whiny. “Can you help me up please?”


637/1149

Julius would listen as she explained that she had picked the flowers for him. To him it was an odd gesture seeing as they were siblings. Flowers were usually a gift to symbolize love or mourning. They were doing neither. He cared for her as a sibling but had never had any romantic notions towards her. He concluded in his own thoughts that she simply did not have the same reasoning for gifting flowers as he was accustomed to. That said he had no time for romance to begin with. However he needed to tread carefully here. If she felt her gift unappreciated in some way she was just as likely to light the cart on fire as the flowers. Julius didn't fear what she could do to him as she had never attempted anything of the sort. His concern was always for their surroundings. Viewing each possible conclusion and branching plans out from each possible encounter. He had been punished enough when his tactics failed those before them in the field. As if he was expected to have magical foresights and pull white rabbits of the tactical world out of no where.

Still he took the flowers from her with a smile and a bow of his head. Only studying them at a glance. Two of them could be combined into a polstice to staunch bleeding and prevent infection. One was a light pain inhibitor that could be ground down and mixed with water for pain. A couple were just flowers with no decent properties to them and one was poisoness to digest. Quietly he pocketed the bundle into his right pants pockets. Keeping it there for the time being as he had little intention to carry around flowers all day. The coin purse in the other pocket....what was left after he sent a percentage to their father from their two missions. A display of progress. Still when she moved close to him he felt the hilt of one of the kunai. So she had at least one blade on her. Something she had been trained to keep prepared as often as possible. He doubted they would have use for it but it wasn't a terrible tool to have. If they did find themselves engaged by a hostile force her being armed was important even if she had limited ranged capabilities.

Still he would watch her a moment before his eyes moved to the farmer. The man was growing impatient with them. It was important that they get underway soon. If he thought it worth his time to give them a ride back they needed to show they could adhere to his schedule. Short of any unforseen events that was unlikely to be an issue. He didn't want to convince his sister to either walk back of allow for the spending of a charged cart ride. So as she struggled to get up he quietly questioned how she ever got through her training. She was capable of simply jumping that small height. In truth he supposed she struggled simply to force him to help her. With a sigh he would scratch the side of his head and take a small hopping step (At least for them) and turn to sit on his half of the seat. Stretching his arm out to help her up with a quick tug before speaking to her.

"You can walk up walls, nail a target at thirty meters in the eye, Create flames with a snap of your fingers and yet simple ledges are the bane of your existence. Why is that?"

1936

She smiled triumphantly at Julius’ back as he hopped up to the seat, taking a no small amount of pleasure in the sigh that preceded it. She would quickly try to erase the smile from her face as he turned and lowered his hand to help her up, it wasn’t a good ruse if she ruined it before she got her way. She easily scaled the cart with his assistance, and would settle herself down in the seat beside him with a delicate sounding ‘huff’ noise, as she crossed her arms in front of her and slouched back against the seat, still trying to pout. She would stay silent as long as she could at his question, it was very difficult though. She would try consciously slowing her breathing, counting her breaths and even actually biting her lip, but eventually the absurdity of the statement was too much and she burst into fits of laughter, doubling over in her seat. She had been trained since her earliest memory to perform incredible feats of combat that far exceeded that of climbing a simple ledge, and yet every time she was faced with one she inevitably found a way to turn a mundane task into a spectacle. Her sides felt as though they would split as she would attempt, very much in vain, to hold in her laughter by holding her arms around her middle as she leaned against the back of the cart.

“Why is tha-? Julius. Oh my god. You’re fucking killing me.”

She hoped her brother was able to inform the farmer that they were ready to depart, as all she would be able to do while she was still holding in her mirth was take her hand slap on the side of the cart twice, in the voiceless manner one did to acknowledge readiness with vehicles. She was not certain if that was a commonly taught practice or something that was trained within their mercenary company as she had come to learn some of their other habits were. Eventually after practicing one of breathing exercises for a few seconds she was able to get her laughter under control and would turn to her brother, her cheeks slightly damp with tears. She felt badly about her laughing fit and would give Julius an apologetic shrug and a chagrined smile, glancing quickly over her shoulder to see if Farmer Ted had taken any particular offence to her brashness. Seeing no obvious reaction she would turn back to her brother and in a low voice filled with mischief would murmur to him. “We’re totally fine, see? You can take me places, I’m presentable.” She would stifle yet another giggle, this one more easily, before continuing more audibly this time. “So where are we off to today? Food is on the agenda I hope, I’m goddamn starving. And I wouldn’t mind doing something exciting like climbing a mountain or something like that. If I know you though it's very efficient and planned down to the minute.” She would nudge Julius’ arm gently as she teased him, she was only half joking, because whatever the plan was it was likely both of those things. And she really didn’t mind, it gave her more time to enjoy the activity which was just fine by her.


559/1708

Julius would monitor his sister before nodding to the farmer to be on his way. The man would huff before the cart would lurch to a start and they were off. The wheels creaking and the road a little bumpy here and there but nothing they couldn't manage. If he had time he supposed he could of brought along some reading material. Something to study on the way there and make good use of his time. Or perhaps keeping an eye out for rare herbs he could use. The idea of hopping in and out of the cart though seemed exciting. For a moment he watched the terrain pass by and his mind went back to his child hood. Always the one to work and study even as others played. The other children trained but they had free time. Each of them fighting or playing in the dirt. Wrestling or sword fighting with sticks in hand. Some just throwing kunai to see if they could be more accurate than the others. The older they got the less they played but it had never been like that for Julius. He had been a disappointment with his minimal stamina. So he had been pushed to work on the books from a very young age. Work burned into his soul.

He was torn from his thoughts for a moment by the sudden on set laughter of his sister. For a moment he seemed genuinely surprised. He smiled in turn as she laughed whole hardheartedly and ruffled her hair a little. She was in a good mood and why shouldn't she be? It felt free to be them. So far away from their father that he held little motivation over them now. They still worked for him. They would have to risk their lives for him. But for today they were free to enjoy themselves. He would take a deep breath of air as the clean air seemed to fill his lungs. It was nice to relax and to do so with someone he cared for. It felt like he was waking up from a world of ashes and dust. It hadn't hit him until now how free they were from the prison of their family. He could feel it in his bones. His body felt light and he was happy. He could just sleep for hours without fear of error or enemy coming for him in the night. They fit in well enough here. It was just so peaceful.

He had only closed his eyes for a moment before she spoke again. Inquiring as to where they were going. She mentioned being hungry and he couldn't help but to agree. Food was likely the first thing on the docket upon arrival. It would be nice to spend the day on a full stomach. Something that wasn't rationed out to them. That they could buy with their own coin. However he would hesitate as his breath caught at her other hope. Guilt entering his expression at the suggestion as he looked down and to the side. It was a little insensitive that she mentioned something so strenuous. She knew he couldn't do those things. His body wouldn't keep up. He wasn't like her. He wasn't a warrior. He was just her support and the question brought up an uncomfortable strain between them. He would shift slightly to rest his elbow on the side of the cart and rest his chin on it. His response was quiet but clear as he looked back out to the woods. His shoulders lowered as if defeated.

"We can eat as soon as we arrive."

Exit thread pt 1

2551
Perception E-2 to D 525/525
speed E to D 750/750
Strength E to D 750/750
Endurance E-1 to E-3 375/375

Cleo knew instantly that she had been an ass as soon as the words left her mouth. Of course Julius couldn’t climb a mountain, why in the ever living f*ck had she even said it out loud? She watched as the light left his eyes and the happy expression that had been there mere moments ago faded into one of defeat as he turned, shoulders slumped his chin resting in his hand. Her heart broke as she realized what she had just done. Of all the people in the world, she should be the last one in the whole world to ever say something like that. Sure Julius was supposed to be her protector, he was raised that way, told that every day of his life, but she felt in every way that she was his protector. And in this moment she felt very much like she had failed the only person in the world worth protecting. This was certainly not the first time ever she had screwed up this badly, and she doubted it would ever be the last. But she had to think of a way to fix it and fast, the day had only just begun and she had already put Julius in a sour mood.

She thought back to when they were still living with their father and the few moments of peace they would have in between all of their training. For the most part they had both managed to sneak in a few hours here and there where they could to relax. However their styles of relaxation were as different from each other as the day was from the night. While she would gladly go swimming or rock climbing, he would just as happily sit and beneath a tree reading a book while she yelled and ran like an insane person. And then the idea sparked inside her mind. Her brother was always happiest when he was able to read a good book, and it had been a while since he’d got a new one. It was so simple she laughed aloud and hugged her brother around the shoulders while smiling and explaining her idea.

“How about this Julius? We go get something to eat, and then we spend the day finding you some new books? It’s been so long since we’ve been in a place where we could find some new ones. I bet they’ve got some damn awesome ones here, books we probably couldn’t find anywhere else I bet. Oh, and then we can find a nice shady tree to sit under and have a picnic and you can read and I can throw rocks at stuff or something. And I promise not to even interrupt you too often.”

She hoped that her idea was enough to lighten the mood and bring back her smiling brother. Cleo made a mental note to be more mindful of her suggestions, it was bad enough that she had said that in the first place, but they were both under so much stress right now. Him most of all, all she had to do was show up where he said and shoot things, her job was easy. The least she could do was be more considerate of his feelings, so with a smile and a returned ruffle of his hair she settled back into the seat and enjoyed the ride.

[Exit Thread Pt 1]

570/2278

STR E-0 > E-2: 225 WC
SPD E-0 > E-2: 225 WC
REA E-0 > D-0: 750 WC
PER E-0 > D-0: 750 WC
END E-0 > E-2: 225 WC