I Spent Evenings Peacefully <Open/Travel>

[Vara]

The warmth arrived not too long ago, the kind where you can feel the border between shadow and daylight. Bree basked in the wind blowing across her face as she ventured along the road looking over the marshes. She took her time, as always, feeling no burden from the progression of the world. There was no need to fear age, yet. As far as she might be concerned, maybe there might never be.

Bree looked out toward the horizon, and saw that it was far more different than she was used to. It had been so long since she went out into the world that she couldn't remember any different horizon. Everything in the past few years was the same—the same show of stars in the night and buildings in the civilized world. Bland.

So, on the barest of whims that had nearly gone unnoticed, Bree did not stop when she reached the point in the road where she usually turned around. There were three paths along the fork, each with its own convenient sign. The one she chose to pursue started with some symbol that didn't deserve a second thought. Destinations were much use to think about, today.

So on the lone Otokage went. She walked on and on, watching as a forest sprouted around her and seeing as mountain peaks rose from every glimpse she caught of the horizon. When her feet were tired, she sat and rested. Sometimes she stumbled and caught a few scratches and bruises, but they were erased from her body without much effort.

What could the terrors of nature do to a healer these days? Not much.

Eventually, Bree came to a rest a couple miles outside the walls of a nearby town. She found some apple trees, and used her chakra scalpel to cut them loose and open. There was a flat brown stone for her to sit upon and snack.

Thoughts to ponder, thoughts that didn't find much purchase on her mind.

How much of the world dared to change? That's a wonder.

<Move to Land of Fire>

[Wolf of the Falls]

/enter

Axel would sigh soft and stretch as he came upon a small town, it seemed quaint and quiet for the most part so it should be a good enough place to stop on his way to meet the Ototkage. While Axel hadn't heard anything about the woman he assumed it couldn't turn out that badly for his reason to be there. Axel's faintly glowing red eyes would scan the area and while his crimson cloak and the black attire beneath probably stood out he did nothing to draw or dismiss suspicion. However the more he looked the more he saw people eyeing him like he was going to start trouble.

With a sigh Axel would continue on through the village and outside its walls grumbling under his voice about close minded people and where they could put their opinions. Though his thoughts were interrupted as he saw a young girl sitting beside what seemed to be an apple tree a few meters away. as he neared her he would gently clear his throat, or at least make a sound similar to draw the girl's attention from her apple.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I sat here for a bit?" Axel would ask the girl with a gentle smile. If she agreed he would sit beside her rock with his back against the tree letting his body rest before extending his hand out to her.

"Hi, my name's Axel, got it memorized?" He would give his name in typical fashion while flashing the Inuzuka grin playfully showing off his fangs. Regardless if she took his hand or not he would keep up the warm smile before his eyes would drift over to the village that he had come through. "So are you from that village over there?"

[Vara]

Bree glanced up at the man, returning his smile with her own. "Not at all, go ahead," she answered.

As the man moved over to sit down, Bree put her fresh apple slices onto her rock—their leafy orange rind against the stony brown surface. She plopped one of the slices into her mouth, enjoying their mild sweetness as she took and shook the hand that was offered to her.

"Axel," she repeated once she swallowed the slice. "Maybe. I don't remember forgettable people, so don't be boring. I'm called Bree."

As a flash of what could have been solidarity, Bree met the man's eyes and let her own flash with a green glow for the barest hint of a moment. She smiled again, then picked up another apple slice and bit a small chunk off it.

"I'm no more from there than you, I guess," she said. "I passed through, so I arrived here from there. I know more of the place than a roaming stranger that never goes in. They have a lovely sweets shop. It filled its corner of the street with the scent of warm, milky chocolate. What'd you learn about it?"

[Wolf of the Falls]

"Well Bree it's nice to meet you." Axel would laugh in his throat as she told him not to be boring so she would remember him. He was tempted to let his wire out to show her but figured it was better not to bring attention he didn't need. She told him that she wasn't from the village but she frequently stopped through and knew of a sweets shop that she had a fondness for.

"I honestly hadn't paid too much attention, i was looking for somewhere to rest for a bit but the looks bothered me. No fault of theirs though I usually don't get a warm welcome. My mind has been on reaching the Embassy so I can meet with the Otokage so most of the details of this journey haven't really stuck with me." Axel would explain simply figuring there was no harm in communicating with the girl. After all she treated him like a human, he would return the courtesy in kind.

[Vara]

"That's a shame," Bree said. "If you don't have fun on your journey, what'll you say to the Otokage for small talk? Complimenting their country with stories of your travels could make them like you more, you know."

Bree brushed her fingers against the stone. She held up her hand, showing the brown and gray dust on her fingertips. "Indulge, and the land will put some color on you. That's something new to see—unfamiliar—something other than squeaky clean village folk. If you're not bringing the Otokage that, hopefully your story has enough color on its own."

Sighing, the Otokage lay down, letting her light green hair cascade off the edge of her rock.

"But maybe it won't go so well. Maybe it'll be something you feared. Maybe the Otokage'll give you those same poor looks. What then? What if it is like it usually is, and you don't get a warm welcome? Now that'll be a greater shame. How do you think you'd react to that?"

Bree reached down, off to the side, and plucked a few blades of grass off the ground. She brought them up to her face and began to compare them to her hair. "That's more a reason to have a good journey, don't you think? It'll feel like a waste if the ending is bad, but not so much if you enjoyed how you reached it."

[Wolf of the Falls]

The words the young girl spoke reminded him of Rosalie, so much wisdom in such a little package. She spoke of how complimenting the Otokage's country could help make them warm up to him, her logic was sound and it wasn't as if he had completely ignored the land. Axel watched her as she brushed her finger across the stone collecting an off brown coating while talking about the land making its own mark on him.

"Well i don't mean I've ignored everything, I love the land here the water coursing through it like lifeblood making every inch fertile. It reminds me of where I come from but the jewels of the land are just right there to see instead of scaling mountains to find them." Axel spoke plainly as the girl laid back on the flat stone making her hair fan out, this land really was similar to his own, but it had a peace and majesty that was different from Taki. The next words surprised Axel as she spoke of the Otokage dismissing him out of hand like he had ignored the land.

"I don't expect a warm welcome honestly, I don't know if my village is even on good terms with sound or not... but I'm not here to for myself or even my village, so as long as the Otokage would be willing to humor me the effort would be worth it." the words Axel spoke were honest and he wasn't there for anything related to the village, he just wanted to protect. While he spoke spoke his hand would move down to the grass covered ground around him lightly brushing his fingers between the blades. "And even if the kage doesn't listen to me at least I got the chance to see these beautiful lands and feel the way nature flows through it. I probably sound like some kind of hippie huh?"

[Vara]

Bree laughed. "I suppose you do, if only a little. I'm sure you'll be fine as long as you don't start carrying a guitar and composing your worldly loves. Music would be nice, though."

Taking a moment to think, Bree turned her head and snatched another apple slice off the rock using only her teeth. She faced skyward and let it drop into her mouth.

Bree tossed all the grass blades aside except one, then began to peel it apart into thin strands. "So then, Axel, what might a silent flower child like yourself want to speak to a kage about? A forbidden song to be played? Are there people who need to be protected? Sick to be healed? Wars to be fought or peace to be found? There are so many villages scattered throughout the land, and so many leaders to appeal to. What do you need only from the Otokage?"

[Wolf of the Falls]

The bright laugh that left the other girl made him grin and as she mentioned music his mind shifted to his body and he would let the wire within flow out slowly arranging into a long threaded shape and using another bit of wire he would slowly start to strum it creating a simple melody, nothing too complex so it wouldn't trip on itself. For some reason this girl and her world view left him feeling he didn't need to hide himself and while it may be weird that a black stringy instrument essentially flowed into existence along his arm it wouldn't face her too much. As she asked what he was going there to do he shrugged and looked at the sky.

"I'm not sure if you've heard of the story yet but long ago there was a coven of righteous people and they called themselves witches, not the I'm going to eat children kind, but the kind that helped people and communed with the land, one even started the Venators. But they were hunted down out of fear and persecution, now there are only remnants left. I met one and she told me that she was trying to bring their group together once more and I want to help them. She told me she wanted to build a safe haven in every land so that their kind would always have somewhere to go to be safe and lately that kind of thinking has meant a lot to me so I decided to help and ask every kage I can if they would allow it while vouching for them as Takikage." As Axel finished his red eyes would glance at the instrument he had created knowing the stigma he now carried and the monster he would be called if people knew. His eyes would then move back to the girl not sure what she would say after he had explained his reasoning for the journey he had taken on.

(I'm a previous Takikage lol)

[Vara]

Bree's eyebrows hopped once as she saw the black threads for the first time. What a unique instrument, the first she ever soon. "Thank you," she said as the music came and flowed into her ears. "What a wonderful ability."

Then there was mention of witches, Venators, and a Takikage. How strange, what were the chances of two kages meeting out in the wild fields without planning to? It was a great day for coincidences. Venators was an unfamiliar term, though. Descendants of witches? They must have powerful or unusual abilities, one like the musical threads Axel was using. Was he implying that he was a Venator, or closely related to them?

"A safe haven for righteous witches," Bree said. "An appeal for land, then? That's a fun request. Do it. Make the safe haven and build it well. Let it be a wondrous sanctuary that is a friend to the land it rests upon. The Otokage is known to like initiative. If you take care to disturb the country as little as you can, and make a wonderful place that most can appreciate, your stay will be approved. The Otokage will come and see what you've made, and even if it is torn away, perhaps by then it'll have already helped at least one righteous witch."

Bree plopped the last apple slice into her mouth and chewed it away. "Trying to envision a project that hasn't been made is hard. It's so much easier to let something stay after seeing it work. Make it work."

[Wolf of the Falls]

The girl's appreciation for his ability made him smile as he played for her strumming relaxed. She mused after the information he provided which made him curious as she told him that the Otokage favored initiative and would probably overlook his plans assuming they did little to harm the land. Her words painted the Otokage as an interesting figure, one far more lenient than others he had met.

"Mmm you have a point, especially if the Otokage is as nice as you say," Axel would respond offering her a soft smile. "And it is true that as long as it protects one person it will have done it's job, I appreciate your advice Bree."As his strumming continued Axel would climb to his feet while allowing his melody to play while he looked around taking in the scenery once more before happily sighing.

"I love this about life, seeing amazing places," His gaze would shift back to the girl before offering her his normal hand to gently pull her into a sitting position though regardless if she took it he would step back and bow to her."And more amazing people. I suppose I'll head to my next location then so thank you for your words. Also if you pass the Otokage let them know Takigakure would be open to alliance negotiations at any time." With that concluded he would turn to travel down a different road to another country, he didn't know which one yet.

/exit

[Vara]

<exit>