Invites: Alwen Sangotatsu, Lin Katonrai

Sitting in seiza in front of the waterfall at Mt. Ikkyu with her trusted katana resting a fist length away from her as proper kenjutsu etiquette expected, Mizuki waited for her invitees. She had picked this place because it was secluded from the mainland, which made it a much safer gathering spot for Alwen, and because this is where Lin had invited them to meet the squad.

For the occasion, she had picked a simple blue dress with a split in the side, and a white blouse decorated with the purple petals of the clan's beloved jacaranda trees. It was a somewhat sober attire, but tidy nonetheless, as she didn't wanted to offend anyone by showing up in the dojo outfit she had been wearing just a little ago. In addition to her katana, Mizuki had brought a large umbrella as well, which would allow the three of them to sit sheltered from the sun.

Now, the roaring sound of the waterfall resonated through the area, its refreshing humidity spreading over the island like a living cloak of water. Mizuki remembered how Alwen had been hampered by the lack of water in the environment and, though the kunoichi had no idea how that was possible, she hoped 'golden eyes' would not suffer such strange draught at this spot.

As she waited for the two other girls to appear, she closed her eyes, allowing her senses to drift around the area like she usually did during her iaijutsu exercises. Even if there would be no raindrops or falling petals to cut in twain, the training of the five senses to reach a state of not-being was something of the highest importance in the perfection of many Raiu fighting styles - Ranton, Kenjutsu and Kyujutsu primarily.

The secret of this not-being, of being one with the Heavens, was not so much the five senses, but the development of the slumbering sixth sense which not only enhanced intuition and the sight of the unseen, but brought enlightenment of the Ranton nature - the creation of the clouds, how it subtly influenced magnetism and the roiling of the thunder above. To achieve perfection in Ranton, one had to develop a greater unity with the suiton chakra within that created the Heavens and the natural raiton chakra coursing in the Raiu's veins that allowed the Heaven's wrath to strike down all opposition.

And this training, so quickly performed, was what she was doing now again. Almost like a second nature these days. Every time she had to wait for someone or something, every time she was bored, even while enjoying a meal with her parents, Mizuki drifted into this meditative training of her senses.

From here, it felt as if she could walk on the storm clouds, reach out to touch the stars and catch their light in her palm. She could emphatically feel how rain clouds pregnant with drips broke to pour their content over the earth, and follow suit as she turned into a flash of thunder to reach back to the earth.

The soft wind around her brushed her skin, bearing the scent of ripe fruits in the distance, the vague smell of natural decay of plants and leaves, the odour of fur and animals. It carried the sound of crickets and the song of birds alike, mostly dominated to a hush by the roar of the waterfall and the murmur of the river nearby that had been formed by the waterfall. And it even bore the footsteps of an approaching individual, whoever that may be.

wc 598

Gora was left at home, no sense in bringing the giant cat along with her to the place where she would be meeting Alwen and Mizuki. They both knew that she had a cat, though Mizuki knew that she was 400 pounds, rather than a regular house cat. Alwen, who did not know at this point, probably thought Lin kept a cute little kitty. Lin had dressed in her skirt, wearing a yellow tie, and a white shirt under a black coat. A plaid scarf adorned her neck and she carried a bag with her ryo for the ferry over in it. She had bundled up because she was cold this morning, and was wearing thermal leggings under her skirt as proof of that.

Approaching, she didn't want to hide her presence from anyone, so she walked with a sort of gait that was a lazy but also at a spunky rate. She looked up into the trees of the island, her gaze coming down to find.... Mizuki-chan, waiting for her. She smiled and waved at the genin. She had a laid back sort of relationship with her students, and she wasn't going to change it now. After all, Alwen was harmless, or so she seemed when she had met her before. Lin called out, "Are you the only one here?"

WC: 227

Alwen sat on the bed she’d grown uncomfortably used to at the hotel, staring at the invitation in her hand. The Mizuki person she had met at the training grounds was wishing to meet up once more. In her mind, Alwen knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to keep going out. But… Well, she’d go insane without it. Company, friendship, and just general air. Nodding to herself, and standing up now, Alwen prepared herself to go out, striding over to her cloak and wrapping it over herself, pulling the hood over her head once more to conceal her appearance. Amber eyes peeking out from the concealed apparel that she clad herself with, Alwen went out into the streets once more, following the directions she had been given.

Walking uphill, towards the point of the mountain region that the instructions had specified, Alwen looked on into the distance, where above her it seemed someone had arrived already, although she was late so, it wasn’t a surprise. Judging from the silver hair, it was Lin. Taking a quick look around to make sure nobody else was around, she removed her hood, allowing her black hair to fall loose behind her, and for her horns to become more apparent. Treading lightly, so as to not disrupt whatever conversation they were having before she arrived, Alwen waited for it to seem appropriate before stepping close, waving. “Hey! I, um, I hope I’m not too late! I mean, you two live here, so, you know which way to go, whereas… Yeah…” she rubbed the back of her neck, smiling, before moving to get into a comfortable place, eyes now shifting focus to grow transfixed at the waterfall. Water… Water…

She snapped herself back to attention, looking to the others with a smile, the sound of the water keeping her calm and relaxed. She appreciated the choice of location, and found herself at peace. Her eyes looked over the attire that Lin and Mizuki had, comparing it to herself as if to remind herself that she was human, and no different to them, save for her horns. And eyes. And scales. Well, she was still like them! She was still human! … Right?

Waiting for whatever Lin and Mizuki were talking about to end, if it hadn’t already, Alwen took her moment to speak up. “So! It’s nice to see both of you! I can’t believe the coincidence that you both know each other though! Like… Wowsers.” She nodded slowly, thinking for a moment about potentially breaking the fourth wall, before deciding against it. “So, anyways, what’s up? Was this, like a catch up or did you need me for something?” she asked, tilting her head although honestly she was just glad that she was wanted, and were it not for the fatigue she felt, and the hostile atmosphere, the two people she had talked to had treated her with enough kindness to remind her of home. Her eyes quickly trailed back to the water.

500

Not good enough yet to recognise who it was by the sound of footsteps, Mizuki opened an eye to peek and was greeted with a shout from Lin.

"Are you the only one here?"

Mizuki waved at Lin to come closer as she shouted back, "Not anymore."
She noticed Gora wasn't with Lin today. Had she left the big cat at home so as not to startle Alwen, or did Gora had an independence on its own that caused the two to be separated from time to time? She knew combat pets were smart, but since she didn't have one herself, Mizuki couldn't exactly place how autonomous such pets were. Perhaps Gora was just lazying about in the sun or something. It'd kinda fit a feline, to remain sleeping without a care for the rest of the world.

"Gora's not coming?", she asked once Lin had approached in a distance where the two didn't need to shout at each other.

Following shortly after, Alwen appeared, seemingly somewhat restless as she eyed her back and, once sure she wasn't followed, removed her hood to reveal her hair and her horns. She waved at them, and Mizuki waved back at her with a smile.

"No, you're right on time.", she said comforting and watched as Alwen suddenly seemed... very attracted by the waterfall for a moment before snapping back to reality. Unlike a little ago, Alwen looked relaxed now and Mizuki guessed the location must have been the right choice.

When she stated the coincidence of Lin and Mizuki knowing each other, she replied with an "I know, right?" and a giggle. Slipping into a more comfortable seating position than her traditional disciplined position, she beckoned to the two of them to take a seat wherever. No sense in standing up.

"Oh, I thought a bit of girl talk wouldn't hurt, you know. Meeting up, catching up, getting to know each other. It must be difficult for you in Kumo after all, Alwen. And in meantime, we know we're both talking about the same Lin-san."

She saw Alwen's gaze trail off to the waterfall again and smiled, a hint of amusement sparkling in her eyes. Yep, it looked like this would be a good place for her.

"This is where the squad met for the first time. It's Lin-san's place, but I thought you'd like it here as well."


wc 413 + 598
= 1011

"No, Gora's not going to come, she wanted to lounge out in the forest somewhere before trying to catch a deer.
Though, usually it just results in a couple of rabbits and a grumpy kitty." Lin giggled, grinning at the Genin.

Lin tilted her head, "So when did you and Mizuki meet Alwen? did you spar? How did that go?" She bombarded with questions and assumptions. Lin didn't really get out to spar much, so it was something akin to living vicariously through her student.

"As for girl talk, I am alright with that, and I thought about this place when meeting Alwen the first time too,
but we went to some hotsprings instead." Lin smiled at Alwen, hoping that she would remember their first encounter as friends.

Alwen listened along, contentedly and happily, gaze trailing to the flowing water every now and again. The sounds of the flow, the sounds of the natural path it was taking. Although, she was thrown off concentration, or perhaps back into concentration, as Lin posed her question, causing Alwen to almost have a double take. Alwen shook her head slightly. “Oh, no, nothing as exciting as a spar. I was getting a bit anxious waiting in a hotel all day, so, I decided I’d go for a walk using one of the cloaks I’d got to hide my horns. I went to a place called… Arbiter’s grounds? Artificer’s grounds? Something like that… People were training, and, while I was watching, Mizuki saw me. I panicked, ran, and that led to me being pursued. I stopped, we had a chat, and it just kind of ended there? Although, I’m quite glad it wasn’t a spar!” she laughed, shaking her head. “I imagine that were it a spar, I’d have lost quite dramatically. I’m not the best at fighting.” She declared with a shrug.

At Lin mentioning their recent expedition into the town proper, and the time at the hot springs, Alwen’s face lit up, and she nodded once more. “Oh, definitely a good place! I, um, I’d recommend it! It was a really, really refreshing experience given that I hadn’t been in water for so long… Thank you again so much for taking me out that day! Having friends really helps waiting go by, you know?” she grinned with a nod. The thoughts of who and why she was waiting however, soon returned to her mind, and she grew a tad less lively, her eyes drifting to the ground as he seriousness of the situation returned, and her excitement faded. If it was the very same Maigo, she had many questions. People were likely dead if he was here, the distress beacon ignored. Why?

Listening to what Mizuki and Lin said, Alwen hummed quietly, before chiming in with a quick bit of her own. “Oh, the two of you are in a squad together?” she raised an eyebrow, listening for a response. Whatever the reply would be, however, Alwen was simply just interested. It was such a small world when you considered coincidences such as this, and regardless, the place was just… Nice, and comforting.

Walking almost absentmindedly, Alwen took a seat on a nearby rock not far from the water, plopping herself down without much of a thought. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Alwen watched the two that she’d decided to think of as friends with thought, before deciding to try not to let the conversation to just drop down dead. “So. As you both know, I’m from the land of water. It’s a completely different place to here. A lot more water, as the name implies, and the ground is generally lower to the sea level, sometimes even below sea level, and slightly flooded. So, um… What sort of places do you like to usually visit in the land of lightning? Any, like, fun cultural things you do or have?” she asked, generally curious about the land that she was currently stuck in. She felt almost like a mixed bag. Both a prisoner, and a visitor.

548 + 500 = 1048

(OOC: So sorry for such a late reply! T_T)

Mizuki giggled at Lin for her story on Gora's hunting prowess. She had not really expected such a big feline to be that mediocre at hunting. Usually they were good predators, but perhaps a battle pet was just different? Or, thinking about it, perhaps there just wasn't anything large enough to hunt here in Kurogakure. Thinking about it, Mizuki couldn't exactly recall that much large game around here. Hm.

On the question of how Alwen and Mizuki left, she listened to Alwen's reply and nodded along in confirmation until they hit the part of how Mizuki probably would have beaten her. She was not quite sure about that, based on what she had seen from Alwen's speed and Suiton mastery.

"... I don't know. I'm a genin, and graduation day wasn't that far off. Considering you're travelling about, you must be a higher rank than I am."

She wondered how the battle would have ended anyway. Would one of them have died, or just... given up? Seeing as the two of them were rather good-hearted, she wasn't even sure they'd fight with killing intent. Mizuki shook her head at those thoughts. They weren't needed. It was a good thing the confrontation was able to be solved without the drawing of the blade, and she hoped this could happen more often in the future.

She listened in on the conversation about the hot springs and smiled. It had been a while she went to the hot springs, being focused on training and to hear Alwen enliven as she talked about it only emphasised that thought. Perhaps she should go again some day... it would be a nice break. Maybe.

"We are. Lin-san is the squad leader, actually.", she replied to Alwen's question, flashing a smile to Lin. She'd have suggested Alwen to join the squad, but she remembered just in time that she was a Kiri-nin and might perhaps misunderstand her intentions. Not to mention that suggestions such as these were rather something the leader should do than the student.

That said, she could share her favourite places in Kumo, however. There were a few. Well, three, to be precise. "I'd say... the Sky Bar is one of them. It's where I met Lin-san and Maigo just after a mission." Though a pity she had to leave due to her illness spoiling the fun. Barely recovered from the genin exams, then doing a mission and finishing with a night out might not have been the best ideas, but she considered it worth since she had met a few more people, of which one was now a friend and her squad leader. "There's the Thunder Temple's area, filled with magnetism and thunder. Pretty dangerous, but there's something calming about it. And lastly... my clan's dojo, where I spend a lot of time training my jutsu."

She was probably biased, but she found the area beautiful. The jacarandas paving the road towards the dojo with its purple blossom, the sand forming the circle that connects the buildings around it, the dark wooden construction of the dojo inspiring the students to value discipline. Her home.


wc 556 + 1011
= 1567

((Lin, you forgot your wc for previous post :O ))

ooc:

Lin blinked at the story, and giggled, imagining the tough Alwen running away from Mizuki, whose skill was known to her, at least, her rudimentary skill. She didn't have a basis for a lot with her. She felt like she should, as her sensei, but she didn't.

Clearing her throat, she brought herself to the here and now again, they were talking about her squad. Oh, yes, she was the squad leader. She nodded her agreement to the comment by Mizuki, she was the squad leader, but she wanted to make sure that she could protect her students, and at this time, she didn't know. Kiri and Kumo were on bad terms to say the very least.


To the last question, she finally had an answer that was her own,
"I like to visit the rice paddies. There is a tobacoo growing village there with an old man just called "Ojiisan" or "old man". He is always around, and has the capability of sneaking up on me still. He leads a village of about... 100 people now? It's growing, because I have helped defend it from bandits, and I like to think of it as a second home.
A close second are many of the hotsprings in the area, Mt.
Ibiku is one of my favorites, it has baths that are said to restore the youth to those who sit in them for long enough, and I feel like a whole new person when I get out of them."

She smiled, hoping that she hadn't overshared, "I haven't ever traveled outside of Kumogakure, so I know mostly,
just... this area? I would like to travel some day, but my first duty is to the people of Kumogakure and the surrounding areas.
One of the places I frequent that I like to work at is the Kumogakure no Sato hospital. Perhaps one day they'll name it after a famous person, but I don't know who would have that honor. They usually call me in for fatal injuries, or for people that are on their deathbeds, but that's because I have studied Iryoninjutsu since I was a genin. I seem to have a fairly good handle on it. My favorite spot, if you want to know where I do senjutsu is on one of these mountaintops here. But I'm not going to tell you which one, or it would defeat the purpose of having a hideaway."

She smiled, remembering that they were watching her, and she twisted her foot a little, it was good that Mizuki was finding friends, and Alwen as well. She hoped that they would get on well together, and become supports for one another.

WC: 819

As Mizuki first talked and gave her reply, it seemed she had differing views on who would have won the ensuing conflict. Alwen wasn’t really sure she agreed, but, that mainly came from the fact that back at Kirigakure, she wasn’t the best at fights. In fact, her track record was… Pretty bad. But, she figured that’d be the point to drop the topic, staying quiet and continuing to listen. It seemed Mizuki was the same, moving on and discussing how the squad she was in with Lin was actually a squad ran by Lin herself. That was pretty fascinating, and intrigued Alwen somewhat to think that her friend was actually a squad leader. It further put the idea of Lin as a strong shinobi in her own right as a further thought in Alwen’s mind.

What Alwen didn’t expect was what Mizuki would say in response to her query about locations in Kumogakure no Sato. Maigo? Again with that name. Her expression soured somewhat as once more her thoughts turned to that of the failed mission, and the potential reasons for him being here. It made no sense. A part of her felt anxious. She was believed dead, right? Was he here to ensure that she was, as was the job of Kirigakure? No, there was always the chance it was of no relation. A different person entirely. She shook the thought out of her head, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of her face from the thought of potential betrayal as she returned to listening to what was said by Mizuki. The locations she stated seemed interesting enough. As seemed befitting, there was a lot of lightning and thunder mentioned, the land of thunder living up to its name with all of the electric locations mentioned.

One thing Lin mentioned took her attention off her nerves for a moment. One that made her feel the need to once more ask questions. “You are a sage, Lin? That’s incredible and cool!” she exclaimed, nodding, before tilting her head. “Who taught you? How long did it take? Ohhh, being a sage must be so cool!” she exclaimed, finding herself swaying back and forth on the rock she was sat on, her excited energy returning to her. Almost catching herself though, she stopped it. “Oh! Also, um, I guess if there are any questions you have for me, please feel free to ask and all that, especially you Mizuki, since, we don’t know a lot about each other.” She nodded, giving a grin and a thumbs up before quickly adding. “Although, I will not tell you my next of kin! If that wasn’t, you know, obvious on its own without clarification.”

452 + 1048 = 1500

(OOC: Again, sorry for the delay ;-; Life + having to prioritise Midori slowed me down)

It was fascinating to hear all these tiny remote places that became special for every individual. How different each person, each place could be. She was less surprised to hear Lin speak how she had helped defend a remote village against bandits, allowing it to flourish the way it did today. Thinking about it, Mizuki thought it might be an interesting idea to pass there someday, if only to see the effects of Lin's hard work. Such a sight... it had to be quite inspiring in comparison to catching thieves and the dull routine of guard duty she was used to hearing. Perhaps she'd do just that when she had the time.

Lin shifted the conversation from areas to skills as she dropped her Sage skill, which immediately caught Alwen's attention. A real flood of questions poured out, making Mizuki giggle somewhat, but it was good to see someone else was interested in the arts her squad leader knew. Herself, she had no real feeling with Senjutsu. It was certainly special enough, but she couldn't see herself working up the necessary motivation for it. Her interests lay with... hm. Kyujutsu, maybe, medical ninjutsu and... well, that would probably sum it up for now. Unlike her sister, she was a bit of a stick in the mud when it came to picking up new specialisations.

Still, listening wouldn't hurt, so she remained quiet as she listened to the answers Lin would bring concerning Senjutsu. As for Alwen, she had plenty of questions she wanted to ask, namely because of her horns and the fact she had told how it brought her into problems, but all together, she wasn't sure which ones to ask without sounding too inquisitive or rude. The few save ones she could think about were probably her clan and her suiton mastery, maybe the sharing of a few suiton techniques, a spar or perhaps, better, a cooperative mission once Mizuki was chuunin herself? Or maybe she could ask about Kirigakure instead. After all, it might be one of the few places she wouldn't be able to reach without being hunted on the spot.

wc 362 + 1567
= 1929

Lin blushed as her eyes went wide. She didn't know that Senjutsu was all that cool. She had seen Sanosuke's in action, personally, but that didn't really... she thought that anyone who made it up in the ranks had it. She scratched the back of her neck and giggled a bit. Well, it was good to at least have a bit of attention. Though, she was, herself, a bit shy. She cleared her throat, "I uh, I am self taught. I heard Gin talk about it once, and well, I just... I just watched Gora a lot. As you probably already know Mizuki. Most of my Jutsu are based off of her. So why not my sage mode as well?" She smiled, and then pursed her lips in thought, her eyebrows meeting in the middle for a split second while she tapped on her lips with her index finger of her left, dominant hand. "As for how long it took... well.. I have been trying to work on it for about... a half a year now? It just finally started paying off, you could say." She smiled and tilted her head a bit.

"How about I just show you, Ne?" She closed her eyes and placed her hands together. She started to hear everything around her, the trees, the breathing of the two girls, the grass, the water droplets in the air were all perceivable to her, it was incredible every time she activated it. She grew cat ears, and they twitched, losing her human ears and having them replaced by the cat ears. They didn't do any more than a human's but she looked a lot more like Gora. A tail peeped out of her miniskirt, twitching this way and that. Her skin turned to a pale white color and finally she was in sage mode. She opened her eyes and slitted pupils looked back at Mizuki and Alwen. "So that is about it... nya."

She giggled and tilted her head. She wasn't able to really keep this up for as long as most sage mode people, but she was at least able to keep it up for a good minute and a half, more if she stood still. It took little effort to regain chakra in this state, but it also took chakra to be able to keep up this state of being as well.

"Supposedly I am supposed to be able to make my jutsu more powerful nyow... but I am nya-t sure about that.
" She blinked and flexed her hand, it felt the same as it had been, her legs felt lighter, as did her entire body, but that was about it. She stuck out her tongue a bit, smiling and tilting her head to the side. She felt silly showing it off like this.

WC: 1310

Chakra: 300/320 (I should have 320 chakra...)


Sage Mode "Shineko"
Sage Animal: White Panther
Augmented statistic: Speed +1 tier
Description: Slitted irises, Grow cat ears and tail (cosmetic only), her nails become sharpened and elongated. Her skin becomes a pale white, rather than her normal, well, pale color.

Alwen had no idea who this Gin person was, but as Lin explained she was self taught, Alwen just kept watching, quietly and enthusiastically. She was somewhat confused by how something like a sage mode would be based on something, since, wasn’t the form dependant on how and where the person was taught? Well, Alwen wasn’t going to interject on that one. Perhaps it was because of what she chose, but not exactly by what she believes. The natural energy in the world was something that interested her, so, if it interested Lin as well, why not let her think what she thinks?

As she declared she’d give an example, Lin began to do what looked almost like meditating. Her eyes were closed and hands clasped together. Gradually the form of the silver haired kunoichi began to shift into one of a more feline stature – tail and ears included. As she finished and declared that this was what it was, Alwen physically leaned forwards in intrigue, a huge, childlike smile spread across her lips as she felt giddy and excited at the prospect of the technique Lin showed. The cat puns were odd, to say the least, but it was amazing regardless.

As she finished her explanation, Alwen simply laughed and smiled, shaking her head somewhat. “Who cares if it makes you stronger or not! That’s amazing! Wow! That is so cool!” she declared, voice far from timid and full of excitement and bustling energy as she jumped up and down on the spot. Perhaps a bit too energetic, however, as jumping up and down upon the rocks next to the pool of water was perhaps not her smartest idea – slipping as Alwen does, the girl soon found herself crashing into the water. With a large splash, it was only a short period of time being underwater before the girl reappeared, horns sticking out of the water before the rest of her popped up with a laugh. “Too cool! Sage mode is too cool!” she declared, seemingly unfocused or uncaring about currently being half submerged in water, and just really, really enthusiastic about seeing a sage. Sense was for the stupid! “Hey! Hey! How long did it take to learn? Did Gora help at all? I remember reading at home that sages are a really long process to become, was it hard?” she gave a barrage of questions, still half submerged, still a one hundred percent overly hyper Alwen.

409 + 1500 = 1909

OOC: You already know why this took so long, so, I’ll just say sorry ^^’’

Mizuki looked in amazement as Lin underwent her Sage transformation, growing a pair of ears and a tail along with having her skin turn pale. Even if it was inspired by Gora and Senjutsu was generally known to be a powerful form, Mizuki found it to have a cute factor despite its feral apparition. She wouldn't want to be clawed by those sharpened nails, however. With the sage form came an apparent feline tick in Lin's speech, with sounded quite similar to mewling in between the words, making Mizuki's head tilt as she wondered if Lin was just being cute or actually had that strange speech coming with her sage form.

Unlike Alwen, her enthousiasm was more reserved, though her eyes had betrayed her amazement. She giggled somewhat at Lin's cute act of sticking out a tongue as she tilted her head, and reacted to that with a hint of mischief, "My sensei is going to defeat the opponent with feline cuteness. There's no defence against those techniques." She left, however, most of the room to Alwen's enthusiasm and fascination for the Sage Form, who looked happy like a child - something that seemed a complete contrast to the Alwen she had met the first time. Quite happy to see Alwen feel at ease and enthused, she chuckled softly leaving all of Lin's attention to golden eyes.

Mizuki's attention didn't fade because of that, though. She was quite intrigued about the part where sage mode made jutsu stronger. How exactly did that work? How exactly did the transformation work? And how much stronger was this? Did this turn C rank jutsu into B rank, somehow? It was hard to grasp as she had never really heard much about senjutsu, or even heard tales of people she knew facing one of those. They seemed a rarity as it were.


wc: 316 + 1929
= 2245

Lin giggled, it was a hard process, and she felt like it was in part due to her free time now that she was out of the house. " Well, to be honest, I believe that I sorta needed to move out and away from my parents in order to really grasp the concept of Senjutsu, doing meditation on someone else's time and not my own was just too hard. My mom and my dad would tell me to do it, and I as lazy and never really grasped the concept of mindfulness and stillness." She blinked, scratching her ear with her new claw and yawning, "So far when I am 'in sage mode' it feels like I want to just lay down in the sun and take a nap. But it's strange, it feels all... tingly? It's hard to descrie. I don't really know how to. It's like... It's like if you had your hairs on your body all over attached to the things around you. It's almost as if I can feel everything moving all at once, or more of... that I can... that I can just... know that they're moving."

Of course, she wasn't doing it justice. It was true that she could sense a lot of things around her, but it wasn't the sense of touch, ti was almost like a sixth sense, one that was related to chakra.

"I guess that I have been working on it ever since I found Gora in the mountains." She shrugged. it was about... "Probably about 2 years ago." She thought for a moment longer and looked at the two "Gora was an inspiration, but Sage mode is really just a journey that you have to take yourself. It is all about stillness, both of mind and body, and making no unnecessary movements. It is about... It's about letting the world flow around you in a way that you move with it, rather than against it." She grinned, "It's sort of like moving like lightning, with the path of least resistance."

Then Mizuki said something that was really funny. A giggle bubbled up in her which turned into a chuckling, and then into a giggle-fit. She couldn't hold her laughter. It was too funny that she was going to face people with feline cuteness. It brought her happiness that she could be with friends, in such a relaxing place, and just have a good laugh.

wc:1747

Still sat within the water, Alwen listened and watched as Lin explained, still within her feline sage mode. The words Lin said as she explained touched Alwen, and in her mind the dragon child made a note of every little detail. The idea of the sage inspired her, and she had always heard stories of it from her mother growing up. Those who are in tune with nature itself, to the point where they seemingly live and breathe it. The inspiration of a sage had always driven her forward, yet here, the person who saved her life revealed themselves to be a sage, with seemingly natural posture and actions, as if she knew exactly what she was doing, and had always been a sage.

The smile across her lips was one that played on, although as she reminisced, her thoughts began to wander. Memories of her mother, retelling the story. Slowly, her smile went from one of joy and glee to one of recalling that which has been lost. How was her mother? She so desperately wanted to know. So, she stood up without realising or thinking, moving back to her position on the rocks as she looked up at the sky. Time had passed briefly, without her knowing or noticing. It was about time she returned to the hotel, to prepare to find Maigo Mugetsu.

Gathering chakra into the water that was on her, in her hair, and soaked into her clothes, Alwen concentrated, slowly draining and gathering the liquid into a long wire, thin, yet long. As if its own entity, this water moved to her cloak, pushing the hood back up over her head, before trailing into the pool of water behind her. While not entirely dry, the cloak seemed much more akin to what it was when she arrived, looking as if only hit by a wet mist. Hood up, Alwen smiled, before speaking up. “I… Think I should probably head back to the hotel. Please don’t misunderstand. I can honestly say, this has been some of the most fun I could have possibly had, so, thank you. I just… Need to get back and get ready. Hopefully I can figure things out tomorrow, so, I’d like to get myself ready… Still, I, thank you both so much. It’s nice to be able to call people friends, especially when in a new place.”

Having said her piece, she hopped off the rock with a gentle step, dust scattering from her landing. Bowing her head, she did her best to show her respect, listening to anything else they would have to say before turning to walk off the way she’d come, yet stopping mid way as she began leaving. “Oh! And while I remember… Lin! You’ll definitely need to introduce me to Gora one day!” she declared, laughing and waving before running off, hood still up to conceal her identity and horns as she ran back to the hotel, reinvigorated from the experience.

496 + 1909 = 2405

[EXIT]

Training:

Mizuki listened intently to the description of Sage Mode. She didn't quite fully understand it all, what with the 'tingly part' and the 'hairs being connected to everything around her', but she did know a somewhat similar effect during meditation. In quiet contemplation, all senses but sight were raised to connect with the environment. Was it something like that? Was Sage Mod some sort of continued meditation state? Mizuki couldn't say for sure. It had to be more than just that, considering Senjutsu was a specialisation as legendary as the Sannin of a Village.

As Lin continued to explain her inspiration and tried to word what Senjutsu did or how it functioned, hearing that it was similar to lightning. Allowing the world to flow around you. Like lightning, the shortest way to earth. Intriguing. The young genin hadn't quite expected an explanation as this when it came to the legendary Sage mode. She wondered if she herself would be able to learn it as well, given time. Mizuki wondered for a moment how she'd look like in Sage Mode, but the idea of looking like a white cat wasn't quite she had in mind for herself. If anything, she'd be a black cat... or maybe not a cat at all? It was hard to say... Mizuki wasn't even sure just yet what she'd pick up as a third specialisation as she had yet so much to learn about ninjutsu and kenjutsu.

Time had moved on as Lin had shown and explained what Sage Mode was, and it seemed Alwen would be the first one to leave to her hotel. It was quite sudden, upon which Mizuki wondered if Alwen still felt uncomfortable with people around her while staying in a Village that was currently in an uncomfortable 'peace' of sorts with Kirigakure. She had called Lin and Mizuki her friends, though, so perhaps it was another reason still.

"I'm sad to see you go, but perhaps you are right. It would be a nice time to wrap up our meeting, keeping Lin-san's Sage form fresh in our minds as we set the next steps into our future. It was an inspiring afternoon. I hope you'll remain safe, Alwen-chan", she said and bowed to Alwen as golden eyes prepared herself with another of her little suiton tricks. Alwen's mastery over suiton was probably just as inspiring to Mizuki as Lin's Sage form. She wondered if one day she'd reach to their level of expertise. As Alwen left, even if she didn't look back, Mizuki waved her goodbye.

Looking up to Lin as Alwen left the area, Mizuki mused somewhat. "Alwen's mastery over suiton and your story on how you got your Sage mode inspired me to train some. Hopefully, I'll be able to reach your levels some day..."

With that said, Mizuki stood up and prepared herself to leave the small island as well, returning to mainland so she could prepare to visit the Thunder Grounds, Kumogakure's training grounds. She would, however, invite Lin to walk the road back home with her as she didn't want to walk alone, but if Lin would refuse, Mizuki would return home alone after a bow towards her mentor and a well-deserved thanks.

This day had been an inspiring day, and she aimed to make the best of that inspiration.

---

[EXIT]

577
Total: 2822

Training: