anywhere [ travel / open ]

[neko bo beko]

[ enter from kusa ]

As soon as Harue meets the open world of Kusa no Kuni, she pulls out her newly purchased world map to give it a look over. It's a glossed paper, smooth and only crinkled where it's been folded. She glides her fingertip over the smooth front, trailing her finger until she finds the small blotch of land marked "Grass." She needed "River." If she followed the border of Fire country, she'd make it fairly quickly she imagined. She stops for a moment, her pink beast at her side stopping to eye her curiously as she fishes her compass from her pack. She decides to head southwest, into Ame. Palming the items briefly only to hoist herself onto Ōmo's back, bringing them back into her lap so she can be sure to stay on track as they move. "Let's just keep heading this way, boy," she commands gently, concluding with a firm pat between his shoulders. He moves at a jogging pace, keeping the border of Hi on their flank.

[ move to ame ]

[Deleted]

moved

[neko bo beko]

A few hours pass before she finally reaches the next mark. Honestly, it was the sound of a distant, far-off crash of rain that told her she was moving in the right direction. Before they came to the threshold of the country, Harue pulls up her hood - it was her only ample provision against these sheets of droplets. At least the temperature seemed to remain the same. The sound alone could be disorienting, loud and louder water hitting the flood of the land. Leaning over Ōmo's side, holding onto his mane so that she doesn't fall off into the mud, she gets a glimpse of his paws as they rise and fall from the earth to carry them forward. Just as she suspected... caked mud and stained fur. What a waste of pink fur. She'd have to wash his paws later.

Rolling her head and shaking her shoulders, she ignores the soaked feeling in favor of the patches of sunshine and clear weather. What a silly country, it was so capricious in its deciding whether or not it should rain. She notices that the closer to the Hi border she remains, the less swampy the areas they track through are. She holds her map in front of her and places the compass over it, watching the hand twitch and move to compensate for their location. "Go this way a bit more," Harue says, extending her hand over Ōmo's massive head so he can see her index finger pointing more towards the East. Obliging, they end up on a path towards the Southeast. They'd make it there before morning, that much was certain.

[ move to kawa ]

[Deleted]

moved

[neko bo beko]

Harue stirs from a sleep she'd not expected to fall into. She's draped over Ōmo's back limply, one arm folded under her head as a prop pillow. Her other arm dangles against the leo's working shoulder, the fingers curling and a fist clenching once she's regained full consciousness. Grumbling, she sits back and stretches, wiping away at her eyes with her knuckles. "Where are we?" She asked groggily, feeling her pockets for the map and compass. Ōmo grunts, turning his head slightly to regard her.

According to the map, Harue and Ōmo's journey was at a close. They'd crossed into River territory; at least, she could only assume. How long had she slept? Where the grass had once squelched under their weight, it was solid now. Leaves crinkled noisily here and there. Harue slides off her beast to survey the area for herself.

[ exit ]

[neko bo beko]

[ enter from kawa ]

Still feeling a bit unnerved by the two pink haired individuals she'd come across, Harue wants to get back to the village quickly. She knows it'll be at least a day and a half before she's made it back to her country, but she's not too keen on the direction, regardless of having just came through the night before. As she mounts Ōmo, she produces her compass and her map, unfolding the article to examine it alongside the navigational device in her hand. She decides to keep Hi no Kuni on her flank again, this time travelling north through Ame. Ōmo even recognizes a marker he'd left previously, stopping for a moment to sniff his small patch of territory in the middle of nowhere before they continue back towards Kusa.

[ move to ame ]

[Skulking Shinzu]

Moved to Ame.

[neko bo beko]

The Land of Ame was even more recognizable than the land they'd just moved through, and it was nice to know that they were almost home. It was well into the next day now, Harue perched prettily on Ōmo's back still with the map and compass still her means of navigation. She keeps to the east while still moving north, directing Ōmo with gentle words and wide gestures. With Hi still at their eastern flank, Harue and Ōmo trudge towards Kusa steadily. She watches the map and uses her finger to mark where they could possibly be, estimating the rest of the trip to carry them into the night. At least the part of Ame they have to pass through is a considerably smaller amount than that of Kawa.

[ move to kusa ]

[Skulking Shinzu]

Moved to Kusa.

[neko bo beko]

Harue was a bit excited to be back home. She nudges her heel into her beast's side and the he sets off into a dash, sprinting all the way to the front gates with his master attached to his back, fists in his mane.

[ exit to kusa ]