Rogue-ish Dilemma [I]

[Flower]

Rogue-ish Dilemma [Invite]

Titan of Stone
Time: 1700 hours
Weather: Sunny with low, heavy clouds
Setting:

“In the Land of Earth, the city known as Soseki is wedged into the rocky terrain as if constructed by dwarves or some other subterreanen race. Houses, shops, and taverns have been built into the stone, cliff faces wherever room is found available. A round, town center has been constructed between many of the rocky ridges, and there are several marble benches strewn around the edges of the circle for citizens to sit and relax. Here the locals come to gossip, give speeches, and lounge with their companions. The sky above is unadulterated by trees or ceilings, giving the citizens a high-glimpse into the sky surrounded on every side by stones.

There are several nearby establishments built into the rocks. One appears to be a bar, one an inn, and one looks as if it might be a cellar leading straight into the ground. There is no question that there are many avenues for an adventurous spirit in the city of Soseki. There are fewer people around today than normal. Most of them are at work but a few, mostly women and their children, scuffle through the center.”

---

Selyse wove through the rocky terrain with a dark cloak pulled over her body, and a hood over her face, which concealed her identity and the clothes she wore underneath. Her neon-blue hair hid its radiance beneath the shadow folds, as well her sapphire eyes. She had been moving through the Land of Earth for a while now… too long. Events had occurred which forced her to stay in Earth, and now she was loath to return home until she had finished what she started.

As she approached Soseki, Selyse drew down her hood and looked at the city — her Sand Village headband tied lightly around her neck. The spear, Bitter Mercy, which had been crafted for her (what felt like ages ago) by her mentor, Shiki Senri, was strapped to her back. She’d taken his place once, as Kazekage, but knew that dream was probably dead now too…

The red and purple metal of the blade seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. It was currently at average length, slightly taller than Selyse’s own body. She’d looked similar when she battled in the Chuunin Exams — a fact that was not lost on her as she stalked the streets of Soseki. Other than her spear, there were few items on her. A butt bag strapped to her waist which held a rogue stone, a ghost gem, and a coleman’s traveling stone. Plus a jar of seven lapis lazuli gems of good quality.

Selyse strode into the town center with her head held high and her cloak slightly ajar to reveal her blue tanktop and black shorts. She glanced, unconcerned, at the women and children who went about their business in the dirt. She kept her awareness sharp, however, knowing that at any moment they might return. She had seen strange things during her time away from the Sand — and she wasn’t sure that she wished to see them again.

But she would. For the sake of her power and her people.

[Titan of Stone]

Krystal sighed as she tried to feel ANY of her seals and couldn't eventually she even took out the book she had received from the woman in that other world and tried to look through it and decipher anything that could help granted the poor thing was holding it upside down. Worse still the neko had wandered far across the land of earth to another city entirely and as she entered Soseki she had spent the past 6 hours painstakingly using her chakra and lightning nature to trace the seal example in the book her gold eyes focused and sparking visibly drawing a few odd glances granted no one really recognized her while her finger sparked and crackled while she slowly eventually recreated a seal formula she could feel.

With a loud sigh she shut the book and wiped her forehead looking around before realizing she didnt know where she was. After a moment she groaned low and closed her eyes trying to feel which way would end up taking her back home. Though in the moment her 'clothing' was only a dark violet bikini.

[Flower]

Krystal looked around the town center wearing her, notoriously revealing, bikini as Selyse spied her out of the corner of her eye. They hadn’t seen one another since the Chuunin Exams… Not since before Valerys had gone off on her journey to discover the truth of her mentor, and uncovered so much more. So Selyse didn’t run up to engage Krystal like she ordinarily would have, but kept her eyes averted and down-cast as she approached at a slow pace.

Invisible ripples of her soul poured out of her body, instinctually, as her feet stepped lightly forward. When she was two and a half meters away, a soft, blue static began to cover body — occasionally crackling in one of her joints before slipping away and appearing elsewhere.

“Krystal…?” Selyse said, her former, somewhat creepy, joy in her voice having drained away to a hollow sound. “I wonder, how long has it been for you?” She looked at the sky, her eyes matching the aquamarine blanket pocketed with clouds. Her arms fell loosely at her sides, palms open, as if she were letting a great weight fall off her shoulders. Something seemed very different about her. “When we last saw one another, we were enemies.” She remembered the force bubble. The sound waves. The trap.

“Tell me -- how did that all turn out?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Unknown Tech 1 & 1A

[Titan of Stone]

(Hiraishin performed)

As the gold static coursed through the book and into her arm the neko now held it at her side not even noticing the interaction as the seal mixed into her chakra like those before. Although as the stranger walked over and spoke the neko's gold eyes flicked to the woman not recognizing the blue woman at first until her eyes rose to hers. Before Selyse could say 'long' Krystal had blinked to her grabbed her and hugged her tight floating into the air as she purred and cuddled the woman tightly.

"It's been so long... Where'd you go..." She whispered quietly cradling her lover to her, in the middle of town, a few meters in the air. Totally normal for the Tsuchikage though no one thought she was the political being in question.

[Flower]

As Krystal blinked beside Selyse, she’d discover that the static that had coursing through the girl’s body was in-fact a precaution. All of a sudden the power of Selyse’s soul burst forth at the intruder’s presence and would deliver a painful laceration to Krystal’s soul if she couldn’t avoid the defense (Will 28). Selyse would jerk back in surprise, but if Krystal continued to grab her and flit into the air (despite the defense) then Selyse would not reject. Only look away, a bit sullen, with her mouth in a thin line as they floated. If Krystal still asked her where she'd been, then Selyse would let go of her soul technique a bit begrudgingly.

"Away," she'd answer brusquely and then, thinking better of it, sighed and said, "I went looking for something. To discover the truth about the death of my mentor. But I'm afraid I was unable to complete my mission." She looked off, longingly, for a couple seconds before covering it up with some distraction.

"What happened while I was away? After the Chuunin Exams...?" Selyse asked, the words heavy on her tongue, "With the Sand Village...?" She tugged at the headband around her neck with her left hand, remembering things that she had heard and wishing that they were not truth.

SPOILER: Click to show

Previously Prep'd:

Harm All Souls [16 ap damage per round / 25 min. / Will 28 negates]
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: User makes it difficult for others to approach the user.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Target is personal. Range is Personal. Duration is 5 minutes per Class Level. User's body crackles softly with static. User makes it hard for others to be by the user and if they choose to be they take damage for their efforts. Any creature who enters within 2 meters of the user will take 10 Armour Points of internal Damage + Impeccable Will every round. A Will Save of 10 + (2 Per Class Level + Impeccable Will) will negate this effect.
Limit: Must be a Soulcaster.

[Titan of Stone]

As the pain lanced through the neko it just made her grab on tighter not one to be deterred as the spirit orb in her head cried like it had just been shocked, ironic. The stalwart Tsuchikage didn't falter, not for a moment for the woman in her arms as a stray tear fell away in response to the pain while she smiled and turned Selyse back towards her kissing her. However her ears and face shifted in obvious confusion to her words.

"Shiki? he isn't dead, I saw him in Myth recently along with Isamu, I asked him how you were since I hadnt seen you" She mused softly pushing the cloak off her head and playing with her hair.

"I haven't heard from Sand directly, thought you were busy running it, you passed the exams, Isamu too..." The neko explained before becoming distant for a moment and kissing her nose. "Let me see her."

[Flower]

GenJutsu Focus [5th time]
Rank: "D" (Special, See Description)
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: User has gained mastery over the use of Illusionism.
Special: ---
Drawback: May learn at a maximum of 6 times,
Description: Each time learned the user gains +1 Competence bonus to their Difficulty in Saves pertaining to GenJutsu Perceptions (Figment, Glamour, Pattern, Shadow, Enchantment, Charm, and Compulsion). When the user learns this technique the 1st 2 times they train it as a regular "D" Rank Jutsu. When the user learns this technique the 2nd 2 times they train it as a "D" Rank Jutsu +10 Training Points. When the user learns this technique the 3rd 2 times they train it as a "D" Rank Jutsu +20 Training Points. This Jutsu does not stack with other Focus Jutsus (NinJutsu Focus, Clan Focus, etc.).
Limit: Universal GenJutsu Technique.

1. [0/30]

Selyse turned her cheek as Krystal went in for a kiss, allowing the neko to kiss her but not being very responsive in return. When Krystal answered her questions, and told Selyse about Shiki and Isamu, she might have seen a small light turn on in Selyse’s eyes. “Shiki isn’t dead?” As she said the words, Selyse could not quite believe them and wondered if it were a trap. Chakra swirled inside her body and into her mind, into the perfect compartments of the brain that allowed for the use of genjutsu. After having used it so often in the Shadowlands and the worlds beyond for so long, relying on genjutsu had become nearly instinctual for Selyse.

Her hands wove into a gentle, graceful set of handseals before a shimmering, blue dragon appeared in the air in front of Krystal — doing a summersault for the two, floating Kedoins. But as it approached, Krystal could make out that it was covered in thin, jagged spikes. Selyse reached out to the creature and touched its cheek, seemingly lost in thought. As she formed the illusion, Selyse allowed her chakra to build up inside of it to increase its defenses knowing that the best genjutsu were fueled by healthy reserves of physical and mental energy. The dragon hovered nearby and screeched as Selyse touched its face -- a terrifying moment for a normal person, but Selyse seemed to love the dragon even more.

“I would have never imagined. And as for the Sand, no, I haven’t been there in some time.” The dragon picked up its wings, and a burst of chakra from its master, and soared beneath the girls and to the ground where it picked at a stone bench. No one else seemed to be able to see it except the girls, as a couple of young children ran in its direction without so much as a single glance. "After the Chuunin Exams, before I got back to my village, I found some leads about what happened with Shiki and why he disappeared..." Selyse looked off, thinking what it meant now that Shiki was alive and well.

"So I went to investigate, but ran into some awful luck along the way." She remembered the Shadowlands with a shudder. "I can't believe he has been here this whole time. And Isamu. You'd think someone would have come to look for me." Selyse looked off at her dragon again, allowing the chakra to continue running from her body into the beast knowing that it would make it even more difficult to detect its falsehood. She seemed almost sad, although it was quite unlike her to care about the opinions of others.

SPOILER: Click to show

Dragon of Wandering Folly

[Titan of Stone]

Krystal pouted a bit as the woman turned from her affection making her brow furrow before the creation of the dragon. The neko tilted her head curious but saw the same blue as Selyse so she didnt question it, however due to the neko's nephew this dragon did little to startle her. As Selyse told her where she had been Krystal looked more confused and started to feel like she wasn't trusted.

"Why didn't you come to me? we could've asked Loki, I would've went with you... I would've looked for you..." She mused quietly her ears folding back starting to think that Valerys thought of her as incompetent or untrustworthy. Those compounded on top of the fact she did it for Shiki which made a red limbi ring form around her pupils as her frustration grew with the situation. As her mirth faded Krystal dipped a meter or two in the air while her tail began to flick.

[Flower]

GenJutsu Focus [5th time]
Rank: "D" (Special, See Description)
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: User has gained mastery over the use of Illusionism.
Special: ---
Drawback: May learn at a maximum of 6 times,
Description: Each time learned the user gains +1 Competence bonus to their Difficulty in Saves pertaining to GenJutsu Perceptions (Figment, Glamour, Pattern, Shadow, Enchantment, Charm, and Compulsion). When the user learns this technique the 1st 2 times they train it as a regular "D" Rank Jutsu. When the user learns this technique the 2nd 2 times they train it as a "D" Rank Jutsu +10 Training Points. When the user learns this technique the 3rd 2 times they train it as a "D" Rank Jutsu +20 Training Points. This Jutsu does not stack with other Focus Jutsus (NinJutsu Focus, Clan Focus, etc.).
Limit: Universal GenJutsu Technique.

2. [??/30]

Selyse looked up at Krystal with a fierceness in her watery, blue eyes. "It's as you said, I could have come to get you -- but I seem to remember a certain enimity between you and Shiki. And I don't know who Loki is." She'd had several conversations with Shiki about strong allies he had, but none that went by that name specifically. "I didn't know if you'd want to help me look, and besides..." 

She turned her aquamarine eyes to the sapphire dragon that was chewing at the stone bench as if it were real. Even though, in some ways, it made Selyse more sad to play with her illusions, she sent another buffer of chakra to the beast and allowed it to grow even stronger as it played. She had to access areas of her brain that she had not used before, learning how to twist her genjutsu so that it would be even more difficult to disbelieve in case someone wanted to defy her reality. 

If Krystal watched closely, she would be able to see that Selyse's blue hair was beginning to turn black near the scalp. It had not reached over her entire head of hair, but she would be able to tell that Kedoin was fluctuating between personalities. "I would not have wished for you to go where I did. To see the Shadowlands and the awful creatures that dwell there. No, not for you Krystal. It would have changed you, the way it has changed me." 

The dragon suddenly caught sight of its master again and climbed into the sky, whirling near Selyse and looking almost mesmorizing in the waning light of the sun. But this time she didn't put out her hand to meet it, but rather looked at it sullenly and waited for a reply from Krystal. In the back of her mind, Selyse could hear the laughter of some mysterious force as she groped with all of the new information that bombarded her. 

[Titan of Stone]

"Yeah, I do have my issues with him but it doesn't matter, I would have helped you look because you're important to me." She huffs soft as her tail flicks behind her looking down as she said that.

"Loki is Shiki's wife and my sister, she would've known where he was and if he was dead." The neko explained softly not noticing the black change at first until she looked back up at Selyse not really understanding as her body shifted lightly in the air so that She was supported by Krystal's larger body leaving the neko's hands free to play with he black and blue hair for a moment, curious. However those red rings seem to accuse the blue young woman, as if they called her a liar about not wanting the larger woman with her where she went, like shadow was anything to a demon.

"I don't care what happens Valerys... I love you and that means you can't go fucking off without me, I don't think I could handle another person I love disappearing on me..." She spoke soft and low guiding her face back towards her before touching their foreheads together. "I'll be there even if I bitch and groan the whole way you got that?"

[Flower]

GenJutsu Focus [5th time]
Rank: "D" (Special, See Description)
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: User has gained mastery over the use of Illusionism.
Special: ---
Drawback: May learn at a maximum of 6 times,
Description: Each time learned the user gains +1 Competence bonus to their Difficulty in Saves pertaining to GenJutsu Perceptions (Figment, Glamour, Pattern, Shadow, Enchantment, Charm, and Compulsion). When the user learns this technique the 1st 2 times they train it as a regular "D" Rank Jutsu. When the user learns this technique the 2nd 2 times they train it as a "D" Rank Jutsu +10 Training Points. When the user learns this technique the 3rd 2 times they train it as a "D" Rank Jutsu +20 Training Points. This Jutsu does not stack with other Focus Jutsus (NinJutsu Focus, Clan Focus, etc.).
Limit: Universal GenJutsu Technique.

3. [??/30]

Selyse let her forehead press against Krystal, and she closed her eyes. As she did the sapphire dragon suddenly disappeared, its thin, jagged spikes disappearing into the thin air. Selyse had lost control of her focus as she told Krystal, "But how can you say that? I'm not the same anymore, Krystal. In fact -- I feel myself slipping away day by day." As she spoke, Selyse stretched out her hand toward the ground. There were still people walking around the center, but now there was also a shadow figure standing about thirty meters away from them, in a corner. Selyse watched it as if she had been accustomed to it her entire life. 

"It's like a shadow," she said, her stare pointing Krystal to the figure, "that you cannot outrun. A memory or a thought that won't go away." The shadow looked absolutely real, being fueled by Selyse's growing genjutsu powers. "I'm not sure that I'm the same person as before. And there are questions which I must find the answers to..." The shadow continued to stand in the periphery, if Krystal did not try to dispel Selyse's genjutsu, doing nothing excepting watching the two floating women. 

"But as for Loki, I'm very interested to hear this. Shiki's wife... and your sister...? So then Shiki is your brother-in-law by all rights, is it not so? I'm sure she could answer some of my questions. I'd rather you tell me where she is and go to meet her on my own, but I fear that I would be disregarding your advice right away... and besides I've never met her and could probably use your reputation. Does Loki like you?" 

As much as Selyse had decided to be alone, she could not doubt that this plan, and new piece of information, had value. She may not have discovered the secret of Shiki's death in the Shadowlands, but perhaps here -- in the Land of the Living -- she could discover the secrets of his strange disappearance. 

[Titan of Stone]

As Selyse held out her hand below Krystal tilted her head before looking as well and upon noticing the shadow being a faint growl sat in her chest that Selyse could feel while the neko's stripes started to pulse like flames and her arms became clad in shadow. "I'm the only shadow you need."

Krystal's attention pulled back as Loki was brought back up, although the neko's face twisted slightly at the implication of him being her brother. As she continued on Krystal's tail almost whipped at the insinuation of Selyse leaving her to go find Loki again before she continued on. "Hm... I think? We've never been on bad terms and sh makes me stuff, she made me like this too." She hums in part while hovering with her shadows clinging to their skin. "Granted I think she's busy with the tree still, I'd be happy to introduce you once she isn't. Until then relax, I've got you"

[Skulking Shinzu]

[3] Flower, Learned.