Cannibal [M]

[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

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He began by exiting the confines of the Iron Circle, hopping over a small fence and into a brush of wilderness hidden from the general public. Trees sprouted in every direction, their leaves obscuring much of Zel's view of the sky. Snow and sunlight filtered down from the heavens in beautiful unison as Zel continued to venture through the forest, headed towards a small cliff side that was said to lead straight to the cannibal's domain. He pushed away the brush and exotic plants in his way carefully, avoiding those that looked too dangerous to touch. Fifteen minutes into this mission, and he was already breaking a sweat. Oh man.

It wouldn't take much longer for the Cloud ninja to find what he was looking for, a cliff heading downwards, bordering the forest he was in now. It was covered with brush and thin branches, ideal for any form of creature or man who sought to climb the natural boundary from the bottom. If the cannibal Zel was looking for had ever ventured through these forests and stolen children from the Mo Village, then this cliff side was an ideal place to climb up here and do so. And not only did it provide it with a hidden entryway, but also a speedy escape.

Without a hesitation more, Zel would commence to climb down this cliff carefully, cautious not to hit a snag or fall and bang his head. The ground beneath his feet was slippery, and each step he took caused a somewhat miniature example of a rock slide, but eventually he made it to its base, landing in grass clearing coated with snow. He looked around, spotting trees in the distance. And through those trees, a mountain face. With no other lead on the cannibal, and figuring that the monster was in a cave somewhere, a cave nestled within said mountain, the Cloud ninja advanced. As he crossed over the low-cut grass, however, his eye spotted something of interest.

He bent down to grab a red ribbon, strewn carelessly aside on the short fauna. Upon picking it up, the first thing he took notice of was its moist surface. There was some form of liquid on it, but he couldn't quite be certain of what it was yet. Bringing it closer to his scrutinizing eyes, he straightened from his posture and found out. It was dank and dried up blood that stained that once innocent red ribbon. Presumably left behind by one of the cannibal's victims. The anger boiled inside Zel, and he palmed the daunting piece of evidence. This could not go on any longer. He was going to put a permanent stop to it.






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[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

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[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

[/i] While his body ached and shivered with the drop in temperature, his mind was alert and attuned to his auditory senses. While he pondered whether he could at least rub his hands together, he heard a noise. The game breaker- a sound like mice scuttling in straw, somewhere to his right. The cannibal was there! He'd actually slipped up, the fool, and was trying to escape! With no time wasted on hesitation, Zel would dart towards the sound and follow its source.

Upon the beginning of his chase, all he could spot in the distance come fifteen meters was a shadowy, lithe figure. The figure in question was very agile, utilizing the cover of the trees standing about to try and lose Zel as it sprinted and weaved throughout the shadows. Somehow, it blended in very nicely with the environment. What Zel noticed, upon gaining a closer distance to the individual, was that his opponent was covered in a thick and dark mud-like substance, which in turn was littered with dead leaves and forest residue. Needless to say, he was finding it difficult to follow such a perfectly camouflaged entity, especially when the entity was quick and speedy, and probably knew the layout of the entire forest to begin with.

It was during this adrenaline fueled time of playing cat and mouse that Zel wished he had his senbon- the ones he had given to the guards upon entering Mo. Or his bolas, which could have been used to throw and wrap around his prey's feet. But, unfortunately, all he had with him was his wits, physical stamina and techniques. So the chase was forced to continue without the use of his equipment, until finally the cannibal in camouflage took a sharp right turn into a sharp narrow pathway, a pathway that cut straight through the mountain into some dark unknown. Zel was hesitant to follow him into the darkness of that narrow, natural corridor first, but he bolstered his confidence with a sharp determination for justice. He had the cannibal in his sights now, all he had to do was reel it all in.








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[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

[/b] Zel would growl, trying to shake his way out of the creature's grip while kicking his feet. Feeling the figure's head banging against his chest, presumably going for a bite to the neck, Zel quickly kicked his left foot up and pushed up against the entity's stomach, freeing himself from its deadlock. He fell to the ground on his buttocks, and the monster he had kicked did the same, falling backwards and slamming against the opposite wall.

He didn't spend a single moment to acknowledge or succumb to the perils of his pain. Instead, Cloud's Archangel leaped up from his current position and towards the shadow-covered figure that had attacked him. He did so with a fierce battle-cry, one that echoed through the mountain corridor and would have struck fear through the hearts of many if there were more people present. But when his clenched hands swung at nothing, Zel was forced to calm himself down and figure out where his opponent had gone this time. It seemed the creature in question was faster than Zel had anticipated, and he managed to hear the footsteps of it running down the corridor again, almost unwilling to believe that it had gotten up that fast.

Once he got up on both feet, he found himself running more recklessly down the corridor than he had been before, basing his actions on instinct and reflexes. A few cuts and scrapes later, from the jutting sharp rocks that stuck out of the sides of the corridor, and Zel started to see a pale white landscape in the distance, at the end of the dark path. He could also distinguish the dark figure once more, enraged to see that it had gained several meters of distance from him now. He picked up his speed, utilizing the muscles in his legs for optimal stamina and pace, following the white landscape ahead. The landscape in question seemed to grow bigger and bigger as he had advanced until, finally, he reached the snowy wonderland.










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[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

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[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

[/i] didn't want to make physical contact with it, but he had to- to bring it back to the fort and present it to Mo's officials.

His intent was written all across his face and eyes as he advanced towards the fallen monster. And the cannibal reacted to this intent, scuttling to its feet to try and escape.















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[Steely-Eyed, Compadre-Kun]

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✖Exit!















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