In and out...in and out...scratch scratch scratch… in and out. Rhys stared at the dark ceiling above him listening to the gravelly breaths of his companion Reorx who slept restlessly in front of the door. The grey hoof of the adolescent rhinoceros would occasionally scratch across the wooden floor, Rhys knew this to be the sign of a bad dream. Rhys assumed it was a memory of Reorx's horrific introduction to the world. Rhys himself would still have nightmares of the blood soaked camp of the poachers that had taken Petunia from the pair. The exotic animal hunters had stolen a friend from one, and a mother from the other. Sleep would not be forth coming on this night so Rhys rose to wake his sleeping friend. He figured they might as well get on the road. The hulking man placed his calloused hand on the coarse head of Reorx, he lightly scratched behind the protruding ears of his companion, and tickled the small tufts of hair that grew out of their tips. Reorx awoke with a start and scrambled to get up before realizing where he was. The young animal felt the reassuring hand of his human that looked down at him with a soft smile. Reorx stood with a stretch and a yawn as Rhys got up to gather his things for the journey.

    Today was the day that the odd looking pair would leave their new of home Sunagakure in order to travel to another village to take the next step on their paths as shinobi, they were to participate in the Chuunin Exams. This was the first time that Rhys had gone further than a few days journey from The Village Hidden in the Sand since he had moved to the urban oasis in the desert nearly one year ago. Rhys had spent many years traveling far and wide with his father, and the familiar thrilling sensation of adventure washed over him, but something felt off. The hulking man could not quite place it, but there was a sliver of unease wedged in the back of his mind that would not subside. Rhys attempted to shrug it off as the pair walked down the stairs of the building where they rented a room. It had been quite a negotiation to get the landlord to allow Reorx to stay in the building, but eventually Rhys (and his earnings as a shinobi) won on the condition that future accommodations be found when the animal inevitably grew larger.  

  They emerged from the side door of the building into the inky early morning light. It would still be at least another hour before the sun rose and changed the royal purple landscape into a golden expanse of sand. He had not planned on leaving so early, but it would be good to get some extra distance covered today. As Rhys placed his first foot onto the windswept stone that served as a road for the city, he was overcome with the sudden urge to go visit Akasha Ungo, his closest and oldest friend. The Dragon's Tongue restaurant would not open for hours and Rhys knew that Akasha valued her sleep nearly as much as she did her uncle's business which she hoped to one day run. Rhys had once made the mistake of going to see her with the dawn and his presence was rewarded to a chopstick stabbed into his thigh. Akasha made an "apology" later that day by way of a free helping of the Dragon Spit Special which Rhys could not resist. Three boxes of that very meal were nestled snuggly in his pack. Akasha had given them to him just the night before when he came to say his goodbyes before the journey that lie ahead. Rhys decided he had better not tempt her sleepy wrath again and headed toward the open expanse of the desert.

   The next few days passed without incident. The rolling dunes of sand gave way to hard earth as Rhys and Reorx made their way to the foreign village. Though with each step that they placed that took them further from their home caused that sliver unease to grow. Rhys attributed the unease on nerves for his approaching trials. Rhys had limited himself to one of his boxed meals from Akasha every other day and only one remained when by the time they arrived at the village of Kumogakure where the Chuunin exams were to be held. The new environment land was a sight to behold. The few days spent there were all a blur. He met an old friend Nova who was also there to compete in the exams, as well as aspiring shinobi from all across land. Rhys was finally starting to enjoy himself when he heard the news. Sungakure, The Village Hidden in the Sand, had fallen.

   Rhys's head swam as a feeling of dread formed into a lead ball in the pit of his stomach. The massive figure of Rhys collapsed to the ground with only one thought on his hazy mind, Akasha. Rhys rushed out of the village as fast as his bulky size could move, Reorx hot on his heels. The pair made the long trek home stopping only when one of them could no longer continue moving without rest or to let Reorx eat. Rhys had no desire to eat and could barely swallow the mint laced water he always carried. Finally, at the end of their mad print home, they reached the summit of the first towering sand dune that served as a marker for Suna. All that lie ahead was rubble and smoke, and the glass. The once great village was now reduced to craters of ash and destruction with huge pillars of glass covering the landscape. The sand had been melted into the clear substance that caused the light to dance through the deadly remains of the city. Rhys sprinted the remaining distance to his smoldering home. The exertion of all this running after days of travel and lack of food caused blood to erupt out of his nostrils, his heart was throbbing, and his vision blurred as he entered the newly formed ruins. The smell of death wafted over him as he entered what was once the city proper. A few lost souls milled about either moaning out in pain or unsuccessfully trying to move rubble and carefully make their way through the glass that threateningly loomed all around, ready to fall and claim even more lives. Charred flesh and a thick noxious smoke wrapped itself around Rhys and Reorx as they moved hurriedly toward their destination, The Dragon's Tongue.

   Rhys attempted to block out the carnage and rubble that had replaced the city that had only just recently started to feel like home, but it was to no avail. The sight of mutilated corpses strewn about like so many leaves scattered to the winds, the sound of a building collapsing in on itself as the last of it's strength ebbs away, and the taste of hellfire and death were all too much to ignore for the distraught shinobi. Tears streamed down his soot covered face that were the amalgamated product of the stinging smoke assaulting his eyes and this overwhelming new reality that was the very epitome of despair. After what felt like an eternity lived twice, Rhys turned the final corner that stood between him and The Dragon's Tongue. He stopped. He fell to his knees. He wept.

   There was nothing left of The Dragon's Tongue. The entire area where it had once resided was now nothing more than a craterous path, as if some colossal creature had slithered through annihilating all that stood before it. There was no whisper of a hint that a building had once stood here. A building that had the best curry in the world, a building that people from all over the world travelled to, a building that housed Akasha. The world began to spin as if the entire planet was one massive toy top. Rhys's vision turned to black as he collapsed to the ground.

    Grunt... scratch.. Grunt… scratch scratch scratch Some time later, Rhys awoke to Reorx standing over him, pawing at the unconscious man's chest. At first Rhys had no recollection of where he was, then it all came rushing back to him as torrential wave would sweep away a lone standing sapling on the shore. Rhys sat up as Reorx danced around him, something was wrong with his animal companion. Reorx seemed more stressed than was warranted by their current situation. That's when Rhys looked up just a giant shard of glass broke off of the structure beside them and came plummeting down toward the pair. Quickly as he could, Rhys tumbled to the side as the massive chunk of glass reached the ground and shattered on impact sending a thousand shards of glittering pain erupted into the air showering the pair with lacerations. They each let out groans of agony in unison as they retreated from the site of the crumbling glass structure. This was neither the time nor the place to mourn all that was lost. They wound their way through the remains of the village until they were clear of all the wreckage. They left the city proper and found a small dune wit outcropping rocks where they could rest and tend to their wounds. Medical ninjutsu had never been Rhys's strong suit. The best he could do was to remove the shards of glass and wrap cloth around the worst of their injuries. Physically and mentally exhausted and broken, the pair lie there on the stone slab staring up at the uncaring twilight that slowly sank into night.

   "Rhys! Rhys dear is that you?" Rhys groaned as he opened his eyes to the morning sun. A dark shadow crept into his vision blocking out the glare of the sun. As his eyes adjusted, Rhys finally realized that he was looking up at Manaka-san, the kindly matron of the inn he had stayed at when he first moved to the village hidden in the sand. Rhys sat up and looked around at about two dozen other locals surround Rhys and Reorx. Some of them he recognized, others were just too injured to even look at. Rhys looked back to Manaka as he stood.

   "Manaka-san.. is that you? What are all of you doing here? You should be somewhere safe, far from here."
   "Yes, it is me dear. These are the people who were left behind. We rescued all those we could. We are the yound the old and the injured. We are leaving now in search of somewhere we can stay until the city is back up and running."
   
   Rhys scanned the crowd again and realized she was right, these were the weakest of the people of Suna. The elderly and infirm, children no higher than a knee, and a few lost souls who seemed nothing more than broken shells of man. The concern for these left behind dregs overcame Rhys's lamentable self pity and mourning. There was work to be done.

   "Right. Well let's form up! Children in the middle, manyone able to fight split between the point and rear guard positions, elders you are in charge of keeping the young ones in check. We have a lot of desert and I'm assuming very few resources. Let's go find a home!"



WC: 1907
Training Onojutsu (meteor hammer): -1k wec and 150 ry
SPD D2-D3: -450 wc
REA D1-D2: -400 wc
57 wc remaining