To Otter's dread he got something he didn't want at all. He just recently returned, was tired, and overall, he wasn't even in the mood to handle such things at the moment. He got a mission, and not just one mission, no, that would be too easy. He got two of them, and both of which are B Ranks too. He dreaded the idea of having to do missions again, at least in so soon of a time, but he knew he hadn't a choice. It was his job as a Shinobi of the village to do them, at least, for now it was. Honestly, he was curious about it he should even keep wasting his time in Sunagakure. Sure, they received a new Kazekage, but those same words kept ringing in his head. "Get back into your cage, creature". This phrase, this command that he couldn't wrap his head around, it was something that had been on his mind nonstop.

Was he doing what his master commanded by returning to Sunagakure? Was it that he was right in seeing the village as a new cage he took residence in? Nanashi brought up the idea of defecting, but how would he carry through with that? It would be something akin to faking his death if he truly wanted to leave, but did he even know the first steps in doing so? How would Zaiaku react as well? Literally, the more he thought about it, the more he thought about his relationship being the lock for that cage he was trapped in, something he needed to break, and those thoughts were something he just couldn't handle, not right now when he was already unstable enough that he needed to find different things to help him take his mind off of the issue. He may end up messing up badly again, and he didn't wish to be one that would end up making matters even worse. He may possibly be a target by Daiki now, but that certainly didn't mean that he should start making stupid decisions as a result, too.

He would soon enough be outside of the village gates, entering the endless dunes. It would be here that he wished to find different packs of wolves to practice on, to help prepare him for when he would begin those missions and to help him carry them through to the end. All in all, he wasn't finding anything right now, and thanks to the hot sun above, he would be standing there shirtless with a pair of tan pants on, barefoot as well. He didn't care about feeling the warm sand underneath his feet, or even the multiple faint scars on his back, but it was the simple fact that even after going all the way down to the barebones of clothing he was still feeling too hot from the heat, which was an annoying issue in itself. Now that he thought about it, he did feel faster when he went to Iwagakure, almost as if a weight was taking off his shoulders. It made him wonder if the heat of Sunagakure had a part to play in how he feels a little bit slower than before.

Before he could explore those thoughts, however, he would see his first partners for this practice; a pair of two wolves, seemingly the beginnings of a new pack, lurking around, seemingly seeing someone they were confident they could take down. This was good, he didn't want to wait in the sun forever, he could end up burnt, which would only further put a damper on his mood. 'That's right.. come at me, I'm waiting..' He would think to himself as he would only keep his eyes on one of them, looking at it directly in the eyes, a sign of a challenge for their kind, while acting like he wasn't paying any head to the other that was sneaking up behind him. They took the bait, as he could hear the one behind him approaching, though he would be faster, even in this weather, and with a twist of his body, the side of his leg would collide with the right side of the lunging creature, knocking it away from Otter. There, it would struggle to get up, and then join its partner in circling him once more, looking for an opening.


Wc 742