A will; A way [Contract Search]

[Kaguya Jikan]

The weather was fair, fair enough for a small venture. Clouds billowed and filled the sky with their puffiness, no rain in sight. The temperature was warmer than in the mountains and a welcome relief from the normal frigid air usually inhaled. Jikan packed lightly, a small one person tent, along with enough food supplies to last a week in nuts and berries. A hunt or two were planned for the rest of his diet. Reaching to a pouch on his backpack he retrieved some nuts and tossed them in his mouth as he recalled his father's words. 'You must go into the heartlands, deep as possible. Almost to the point of being lost, then find your way back. You can only take your wits, Keri and this backpack.' He continued to struggle on the why of his journey, his father told him it was a bonding trip with his dagger, though it fell to confusion on how the trip would make them bond. Jikan figured the best way to bond with a weapon is to fight with it. His father had other plans apparently.

Getting into the thick of the heartlands was going to take some luck, and as luck would have it - his father had fastened a Machete to the side of the backpack. Withdrawing the Machete he began his trek into the heartlands. Maybe an hour had passed, told by the position of the sun it was now near the top of the afternoon. Jikan looked at his compass, the dials continued to spin around unable to find north. He shrugged, "I guess this is the part where I get lost..."

Another hour passed and sweat dripped down Jikan's face. Wiping it, slashing could be heard as Jikan went to work clearing out a campsite deep in the vegetation of the Heartland. Using his adventuring machete he slashed branch after branch, he could feel the elation from Keri. She was excited for some unknown reason, Jikan figured it was because he wasn't using her to cut through the forest. It had already taken him all morning to get this deep into the heartland and he had no plans of returning to the village until his mission was complete. Even with the mission being a vague lesson from his father.

Setting down his backpack in the clearing, he took special care to have as much space between the trees and where he planned to plant the fire. He cleared out the space of debris, piling all the branches he had slashed for tinder while making a separate pile for larger logs that could keep the fire burning through the night. Going through the pockets on the backpack he found mostly survival tools, most of them obsolete due to Ninjutsu, trusting in his father he used the tools in the bag over Ninjutsu. 'My wits, My weapon, and this bag... huh.' He retrieved a flint from the front pocket and struck it over the fire with the machete. An ember began to burn in the middle of the campfire, using his own breath he blew life into the fire and it crackled to life. 'Good thing there has not been any rain in this area, logs should burn quick and hot.'

Next was the tent, it was a basic tarmac with sticks and strings to hold it up. He looked to the sky and there was still nothing brewing from his limited vision on the forest floor. He opted to make a hammock instead of a tent, tying the ends to two trees that were far enough apart to let him sleep in comfort, while being far enough from the fire to not be set on fire from it's swinging motion. Jikan sighed, looking into the campfire, withdrew Keri from her sheathe and spun the dagger between his fingers. For the first time in hours, a voice was heard. "Hello Keri, what am I supposed to do now?" The elation from earlier was still pulsing through Keri, it lingered and was replaced by what Jikan could only take as a shrug or uncaring. "How helpful..." He continued to spin the dagger...

He looked at his compass again, it was still spinning. He was in the dark about magnetism so he shoved it into a pouch. "How about a hunt?" he stopped spinning Keri and gripped her handle. The elation he felt from it came back ten fold and decided it was time for a hunt. "We can't travel too far from camp... We would get even more lost." "Sorry dad, We can't be as old=fashioned as you planned." Making handseals with his left hand he dowsed the fire with water, removing the wet logs and tossing them into a surrounding thicket. "Just not proper leaving a fire unattended." His right hand spun Keri one last time before sheathing her. It was still midday so a position was hard to calculate. His left hand once again formed the proper seals and a Shadow Servant popped up in a swirl of crows. "You stay here, for positioning. Don't eat anything..."

Another set of handseals and he used Snapshot to record his hunt and a redundancy on finding his way back to camp. With two systems of finding camp in place he headed north of his camp to explore. He cast his last set of handseals and activated Active camo. Now the hunt could begin.


[WC:903 - MFT]
[ OOC: Using Discovery of Contract of Your Choice -
Effect: Discover contract - Using the contract card to find Fox Contract.
Approved: https://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=59894#p323093 ]

 

[Aurora]

Hello Jikan.
I'll be your mod for this contract. You searched for a Fox contract and lo... you found one too. What are the odds?!

Before we start, I'll make the rules of the game clear:
- There is a 5 days post limit for the both of us. If for one reason or another you can't reach the deadline, communication is key. A swift PM or DM (Discord name is Raven | Misaki Aiakyume) with a brief reason is done quickly. The better we maintain the deadlines, the sooner we'll reach the end of the story.
- Failing to maintain the deadline without a given reason will grant a strike. Three strikes to you, you fail the contract. Three strikes to the mod, he gets replaced.

If you have any questions, suggestions or ideas for storyline or whatsoever, do not hesitate to contact me :3

 

[Aurora]

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

A jungle. Not quite the place for a fox to be. Certainly not the sort of fox like Farrell, who was used to deal with the more administrative tasks in life. He preferred a simple life. One of waking, casually sniffing the area for some breakfast prey and hunting it down. Then move to work where the chronicling of new information happened. Adventurers, jokes, pranks, the occasional trifle here and there and most of all a bunch of administrative records for other realms. Working for the celestial kitsune was not quite the job he had envisioned, believing they had a luxurious life of loafing about and being fed snacks as they popped in through prayers and offerings done from the local populace. Alas, who would have thought one had to be born as a white fox for such a privilege? Even then, the celestial kitsune were not the worst. While he was working hard they often came to check upon him, brought some of their snacks for his good work. Not like he was the only one doing paperwork there. Nor even the only red fox to do so. [lb2] But there comes a time in every fox's life where too much of the same just doesn't cut it anymore. The kanji danced before his eyes, he felt his brains shrivel with every passing day and even his legs were starting to feel sore. Aching for adventure. For a long trek, breath in fresh air and see the world. Be the young dashing fox he used to be, outsmarting others just because he could. Farrell grinned. Yes, that idea appealed to him. So with his bowl hat on his head he had walked over to the celestial kitsune and had thrown in his request with them. "A nice place. Where the weather is nice and the climate is warm. Something adventurous."[lb2] Perhaps he should have been more precise about his request...[lb2] A moment of silence passed as the fox's eyes darted through the environment. Massive trees, ferns and leaves covered most of the area, hiding any decent path and turning them into a challenge to navigate on their own. Where the roads weren't simply made of stomped earth, roots and moss had overgrown the paths to make it even more tedious to walk. Flowers as dangerous as they looked beautiful, awaiting the hapless victim getting too close and the sound of chirping birds and snapping predators echoed through the air, their origins hidden from view. But the scent... The scent was wonderful. Mouth-watering so. Rife with mice and rats to hunt, the pure undisturbed smell of wood, mold and flowers mingling with each other in a perfect balance. Farrell the fox could only grin, tail wagging, at the idea. [lb2] Despite the oppressive warmth in the jungle, the fox daintily darted over the first path he spotted. Like a tourist, sight-seeing as his head turned left and right, tongue out of his mouth. Hat still on his head. It wouldn't take too long before the fox would encounter the first signs of danger. Spiders the size of a hand lurked within the bushes, snakes hung low as they observed the area while basking in the warm rays of the sun. Sounds of fleeing prey everywhere, yet their bodies unnoticed. Forcing the old fox to 'wake up' his hunter's instinct lest he'd end up starving. But the worst of all was a tribe of wild men he accidentally stumbled into. Or well... not stumbled, exactly. They had thrown a net over him, actually. Dragged him off to their camp. Food for tonight.[lb2] A careless moment of their accord would allow him to escape. As they removed the net, holding him down with only one solid pair of hands, Farrell would shamelessly bite into one hand. Forced to let go as blood revealed itself, he'd rocket away out of camp and into the bushes, losing his precious hat along the road. Safe, yes, but not quite himself anymore. From the shadows, the fox would watch with drooping ears how his hat now served as a trophy for the wild men. But what could a fox on his own do against a group of men like that? [lb2] Refusing to sit around, Farrell the fox would strut around, thinking. Thinking. Thinking. He needed help, but where could he find such a thing? His eyes spotted nothing looking remotely as intelligent as himself, his ears caught naught but the persistent brush of leaves and his smell picked up... Wait, that wasn't the smell of an animal. Nose pointing in the air to catch the scent clearer, the fox would slowly track the scent of ... yeah, what exactly was it? ​

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[Kaguya Jikan]

There had to be a better way the shinobi thought to himself. His right arm was growing tired from the hours of slashing the machete to brush. He hadn't eaten before he left, while the nuts provided some energy it was far from enough to keep the pains of repeated muscle work at bay. He looked up towards the treeline and wondered if it would be a cliche for him to take to the trees. Knowing his father wanted him to be old fashioned, he tossed the old fashioned idea from his mind, he sheathed the machete into his bone-belt and shrugged in his melancholic state. Pushing chakra to his feet he slowly ascended the closest tree and found a branch to sit on to regain some energy. Another handful of nuts found their way into his mouth, it did nothing to stop the rumbling in his stomach.

Looking down he could see the path he had cut out in his attempt to find some sort of hunting grounds. Placing a hand on his dagger, Jikan felt the giddy elation Keri protruded. It turned his melancholy upside down and gave him a burst of positivity that he desperately needed. Even from the midsection of a tree his vision was blurred by the density of the forest. He took one last look at the path back to his camp, then a sigh escaped his lips. He went over his options, "Lose my trail, lose my camp." His mind teetered on going back to slashing the undergrowth for a split second. "Well, I've got everything I need." Keri sent a bubbly warmth through Jikan's spine. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Safety was always on his mind, redundancies and safe options were his MO. Making handseals with both hands he once again summoned his shadow servant, a flock of ravens provided a non-descript ANBU looking shadow. "Keep this checkpoint for me, Servant." The servant nodded, Jikan's face was void of emotion and he did not respond to the shadow. Without further word, Jikan leapt to the closest branch and used this method for direction since he was already half lost - Might as well make it a full loss of direction.

Jikan made his way through the treeline at half pace to allow for observations of the forest floor. "This is much better on the arms, We need to find a stream or some form of body of water." Keri sent an acquiescent feeling to Jikan. Further and further Jikan went, hoping the snapshot he maintained would lead him home, it continually nagged at him but worst case scenario he loses a backpack and tent. Pressing on Keri sent a jolt through him and he stopped mid jump, leaned back and crouched on a branch. "Hmm?" An exceptionally frantic feeling emanated from the dagger and he looked towards the ground level. He couldn't see anything of note, that's when the smell hit him. It was a cross between burnt wood and a meat he had never smelled before. Keri's frantic feeling got stronger, Jikan's interest was piqued.

He headed toward the direction of the smell, slowing his pace to one tenth of his normal pace. Landing on the closest branch he saw them for the first time, Wild men. He was confused at first, lowering his voice so only Keri could hear it, intentionally. "I had no idea people lived out here. Think we can ask them directions to the closest watering hole?" Keri's frantic feeling quickly turned into a blaring feeling which he had determined to be no in the past. He snickered under his breath. "Where's your sense of adventure Keri?" She made him feel an exasperated feeling that continually faded. Jikan knew she was right, there was a low probability of them speaking the same language and it would most likely turn into a fight.

He was about to leap around their makeshift camp when he took a quick glance, stopping his movement again. They were dressed in tattered and torn skins of animals, but there was an object they kept tossing between each other and making guttural sounds, along with what could be perceived as a grunt cackling. The object in question was a small hat. It boggled him for a second, it was too fine of a hat than these wild men seemingly had the craftsmanship to make. Again his brain teetered between the options, before addressing Keri in a whisper tone. "You wouldn't shy away from a fight would you?" Keri zapped him, which almost made him fall from his post, apparently she was offended by his question.

"Well here goes nothing." Bringing his right hand to his face he summoned his ANBU mask. Following the mask, he dropped the maintained Active Camo and fell from the treeline, he did not do so gently making a thud as his left foot and right knee hit the ground. He padded himself with chakra to relieve the pressure of crashing down. Standing up slowly he addressed the Wild men. "Could I bother you Gents for directions to the closest watering hole?" Jikan had a feeling it would fall on deaf ears. Either way, he committed to the situation, waiting for a response with one hand behind his back, grazing his dagger.

[WC: 882]
[OOC: Thank you for taking the mod, let's have some fun!]
[Total WC: 1785]

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

Sniff,sniff.It was no ordinary smell that he was used to. It was something foreign, something that did not spend too much time in these parts. In fact, now that Farrell thought about, it carried the same scent those foul wild men did but it was...different in a sense. His curiosity peaked, nose to the ground, the elder fox trotted along tracing back the path he had come to get away from these tribal savages, he really was crazy. No sane animal would try to return to the area where they were about to be feasted on but he must not leave without his headgear. No,no, Farrell must retrieve his hat, even at the cost of a limb or two, such a theft he would not let go unanswered. Approaching the campsite, the fox hunkered down near a tall tree trunk which blocked part of his body so he could not be easily seen when his ears perked up as he zoned in on what was going on. My,My, this was interesting. There was a new man, he didn't seem like one of the wild men, he seemed..proper?Proper?Was that the right word? Probably. All Farrell wanted was his little black hat which the group was tossing around like it was some sort of toy! A toy! He must remain patient for the time will come, although he would prefer not to lose any limbs when he set out to conduct his operation to retrieve his beloved item.

Sniff,sniff.The scent was VERY strong and the fox confirmed the fact nodding to himself, his pupils darting to focus on the strange man. Yes, it was him, it had to be him. He had gotten accustomed to the wild men's scent and the old predator knew when something was out of place.Sniff,sniff.It was not like the savages, foul and reeking of disease, this man, he smelled..well..nice?Nice?Was that the word? Probably so. How was he to know, he was just a ltttle old fox on a misson to retrieve his hat which had been wrongfully taken from him during his near-death misson. Wait! Hat! Right, Farrell must focus, not be distracted by a mere newcomer. He watched as the strange human approached the laughing hunters and spoke, what was he asking for? Water? Something about a hole? Was he thirsty?Farrell was, trotting around all day like he was sure did take a toll on the body."Aha!"He exclaimed probably too loud as a idea came to him before suddenly growing quiet as one of the hunter's head suddenly snapped in his direction. Had he been too loud? Was Operation Retrieve Hat going to be finished before it had even began?

The tribesman began to shake his head at the man and began making erratic gestures."Go..strange man go...feeling not good..strange man go..no water..strange man go.."His language was very broken as he attempted to formulate a sentence though it was unclear what he wanted. One thing was clear however, the group did not want him anywhere near them and were a bit shook by his sudden appearance. Farrell suddenly grinned as a thought came to him. Yes, old Farrell could do this..yes..yes, everything would be ok..his hat would be safe too! He could offer to lead the man to a nearby watering hole if he could retrieve his hat for him..yes..perfect plan...Farrell had this under control. Now, the only issue was actually getting to the man while these strange men were about."You go...no good...strange man...not peace..."He rose on all fours and began to creep slowly forwards watching the wild humans attempt to convey their message to the traveler. Yes..Farrell was smart..Farrell could do this. All the human had to do was turn around and he would witness a spry fox standing on the treeline staring dead at him though it had come with a price. One of the wild men shouted out pointing at the creature."He come...he come..thief..come...!"Several of the men broke off from the converstation running to their tents to grab their spears and what weapons they could find. The fox noticed his hat had been dropped on the ground. It had been torn in several places from all the toying around with it the men had been doing. He looked at the man, He would help Farrell right, old Farrell, poor and helpless Farrell."Help."That was all he said.
[OOC: I will be taking over as your contract moderator for this search!]

 

[Kaguya Jikan]

Surprisingly enough the wild men could speak, if it could be called speech. They obviously didn't understand him as he listened to their gargled speech. Jikan didn't take his eyes off his targets, so the fox went unnoticed. That's when they made the fatal mistake and he heard one of them call him a thief. "Thief? Tch..." He almost fell into a tangent about how dare a wild man address him but again they wouldn't understand. His rage boiled as he heard a small voice pipe up in a short cry for help. Now the fox was talking, but at least it made sense... He shoved it from his mind as his fingers began to fold into familiar one handed seals. "Help? I'll do more than help."

This had been anything more than a normal day, Wild men living in the jungles like savages and talking foxes. Jikan's hand was still grazing his dagger when he saw the hat again. Maybe it belonged to the talking fox, he had first assumed it belong to a rich man who got lost in the jungle but somehow the talking fox made more sense. He wasn't familiar with foxes but was sure that most of them couldn't talk. "I'll just grab that" He body switched and a log appeared, he grabbed the hat and body switched again leaving him down to his last kawarimi target. He appeared back in front of the fox, placed the hat on his head and looked back towards the wild men who were too close to comfort.

Using both hands to summon a Hydro Tidal Shockwave he began to spew a massive amount of water into a wave aimed directly through the wild men and their camp. He didn't plan to go gentle on these savage ungrateful poachers, that was the worst thing about them in Jikan's mind as the wave pushed back some of the incoming attackers. Quickly he switched back to one handed seals and made identical seals with both hands. He lowered to one knee and tapped the ground with each hand creating two mystical ponds in front of him. He had no reason to rush the demise of these vermin, He saw some of them begin to run, he had other plans for them. Rising from the placement of the ponds he used his Containment Jutsu recently taught to him. Summoning a black blockade he cut off their route of escape and he began to chuckle a little. If any of the wild men were to make it to him with a weapon he would target him in a true duelist fashion and parry incoming attacks while protecting the fox while also maintaining Dance of the Larch.

"So, talking fox... I was in the area hunting deer and these poachers showed up... They call me Sidewinder. I'm with Kumogakure and these folks are breaking rules, it's my job to deal with them."

He was grinning ear to ear under his ANBU mask at being able to toy with some prey today. It was more than some sick idealogy that made him want to make people suffer, his philosophy was that you learned the most from misery, If they lived, perhaps they would learn. The outcome of that didn't look too good with Jikan offended by their very existance... Although throwing them all into jail to rot after their beating was another option floating around his head as he turned back to the battlefield.

[OOC: I've never RP Battled before :3
[MFT - 579 words]
[Total Words: 2364]

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

The onslaught was brutal but brief. There were various shouts and grunts of pains and shock as spears flew at the Kumo-nin and his fox companion but the aim was so wild they fell short by a far distance clattering into the grassy surface. Farrell disliked conflict but he sat there simply watching the chaos ensue before him as large streams of water erupted from the shinobi next to him swarming the men in it. The fox let loose a devlish grin watching as the wild natives attempted to resist only to be rebuffed by the sheer volume of the jutsu that had been aimed at him. Farrell liked this, yes he did, after all, these culprits had attempted to beat and skin him alive and then took his precious hat and treated it like some toy! The nerve of them! It was no mere child's thing, it was something to be treated with dignity and respect like a crown. These men clearly did not see it from such a perspective so the fox was secretly enjoying this show of violence though he did not express it wholy. A few still standing from the barrage of ninjutsu found their way blocked and looked back at Jikan as if contemplating what to do. They decided on a wise course of action throwing their spears to the ground and dropping to the knees, hands raised in the air as they looked up at the shinobi, their eyes pleading for some sort of reprieve for their actions. After all, it was they who had decided to skin little old Farrell alive when he was happily trotting about in the woods and tore up his small hat which now lay drenched in water on the grass shredded to pieces among the conflict.

He trotted over to the item nudging it sadly with his paw watching as piece of the fabric peeled off. Farrell just wanted to have some fun, why did people want to ruin his life, he asked for nothing, just his lonely little self and his hat, he wanted to give it a name. He looked up at the man who spoke eyeing him with a bit of interest. SIdewinder? That was a curious name, the fox thought it strange, it seemed more like a title or something similar if anything else. He began going off on some rant on how he was out here to ensure there no rules being broken and something about poachers. Farrell really paid it no mind as he clamped the hat between his teeth and walked over to where the shinobi was dropping it at his feet."Sidewinder...i like it. I'm Farrell the Fox."He said softly trying to put the hat back on his head only to have it peel off more as soon as he went to touch it."Thanks for your help but I doubt your job description entails finding sad little Farrell a new hat."He said dully watching as the headgear lay there, the pieces of torn fabric fluttering in the wind. It was a sad sight to behold. If it weren't for those poachers, bright and cheerful Farrell would still be strutting through the woods happy as a clam but it seemed fate had it out for him. He hung his head dejectedly pawing at the grass unsure what to do."What are you doing out here anyways, Mr.Sidewinder? It doesnt seem like you travel here often?"He said eyeing the man.

Farrell without waiting for a reply laid down wagging his short tail to and fro and began to sing, a sweet but sad song."If I had the time to live over
Would I find the way to get it right

Would I say the words I really are meant to say
Would I change the things that I'd done

The voice calls
Come come away little fox, little bird
Run away into the night
You will burn your eyes, you will burn your wings
If you go into the light

If I had the strength to begin again
Can I find which way to go
If my legs stay steady and my heart stays strong
Can I bend the road my own way

The voice calls
Come come away little fox, little bird
Run away into the night
You will burn your eyes, you will burn your wings
If you go into the light

If I give the very best part of me
Will I have enough left for myself
And will I change when I turn around
Will I recognize my own name

The voice calls
Come come away little fox, little bird
Run away into the night
You will burn your eyes, you will burn your wings
If you go into the light."
It was a song the young animal had heard as a hatchling and he sung it now as he looked at his tiny little hat if you could even call it a hat anymore. Farrell the Fox looked up at the human, a expression of hope and curiousity on his face."Sing with me?"He asked."If you sing with me, I will lead you to the nearest watering hole as you asked those men earlier but only if you sing."He said. Farrell refused to believe he couldn't sing. Eveyone could, they were just afraid to showcase it. That was how Farrell perhaps happened to stay so happy and spry, but after today, he just lay there moping and sulking. There were those who took refuge in oppressing lesser life forms such as sweet little foxes and now his only item of value was gone, broken. What was a fox to do? The chances of finding a exact replacement was near impossible in the wild and it just wouldn't feel the same, he felt the wind ruffling the bare fur on his head which his hat had once covered. It was a sore reality to adjust to.

 

[Kaguya Jikan]

As the last of the wild men ran off, Jikan was left with an empty feeling. He was unable to apprehend the poachers and did little more than pulverize them. He didn't have time for the former and killing this many weaklings felt like a slaughter, one he wouldn't commit to. "Run wild things, run, for come another day." Reverting his hand seals to open palms he cancelled the maintain on everything except his Shadow servant and snapshot. The camp was in ruins but he could still report it, it was times like these he rather of opted for a headset, on second thought; he was probably too far from the tower to even have connection. Looking upward in the tree line he looked for a gap and sent up a signal flare.

He sighed and turned his attention back to what the now singing fox had said. as Jikan looked at him he wondered how on earth people could hunt such small animals. There was definitely no honor or glory in it and people who buy and use the pelt should be skinned themselves. He shrugged it from his mind. A team to clean out this camp would come eventually.

'Little guy misses his hat, I can make him a hat. I can even make the rim and structure hollow so it won't weigh down his tiny head.' Jikan was more excited about crafting something new than the song but paid an idle ear to the foxes small, surprisingly enjoyable voice. Jikan was aloof, almost in a trance as he listened, his face sparked up when asked to sing with the fox, "Sure, I can sing. and I can make you a new hat! If you don't mind it being made from bone. It's not my job, I'm on Vacation!" His voice got serious for a second, "Plus, you did lead me to this poacher camp, and we put an end to their evil poachery." Letting his face smile behind his mask he started to sing with Farrell, trying to reach a level of harmony that was pleasing on the ears and occasionally humming when he lost track of the words.

It felt good to just sit and sing with his new friend but his gut never was a quitter with it's bubbling and popping sound reminding him of today's first venture target. Food! "I've been trying to hunt deer all day and like you said, I don't know my way around these parts. Keri and I, Keri being my dagger." Unsheathing his dagger he let sunlight hit it to enunciate the shimmering pink blade. "We have a special relationship. We can only communicate in feeling though." Jikan had a brilliant idea as he sheathed his blade and looked back to Farrell. "We can make camp by the river and you can stay with us while I make your new hat. Of course we will need some kind of fabric to put around it too... food first!"

He wasn't sure if asking Farrell to pick up some cloth from the camp was some sort of barbarianism but he didn't want to find out.

[MFT - 523]
[Total Words: 2887]

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

The fox ear's perked up at the mention of it. Now that the man mentioned it, the poachers had come here for a purpose and that was food. There was plenty of game in the forest and the fox knew this for a fact, the various scents of animals wafting across his nose as he glances toward the forest. The kind human's offer to help repair his hat takes Farrell by surprise slightly. Usually, the fox is not used to having others doing stuff for him, he tends to do things for himself being a lone survivor and all that but still, Sidewinder could probably make a better hat than he could, bone, flesh, whatever material was used, he didn't care, all he wanted was his hat back so he shook his head in agreement smiling revealing a row of jagged sharp teeth. He was after all, a fox,a predatory animal that most tended to avoid but Farrell was nice, a nice gentle fox but people did not seem to understand this. Maybe the poachers were after him out of fear? Fear he might come back and slaughter them all. It seemed like a fit punishment for those whom had disposed of his precious headgear in such a brutal manner but alas, Farrell was not a cold-hearted individual and still held a kind soul within him.

Now inspired by the man's word, he began nodding his head to and fro listening."The river is not far from here! There is a small trail through the woods that leads to a clearing where the river flows through. It holds edible drinking water too! I have a nickname for it! I call it the Flowing Peace River!"Farrell said imagining the body of water in his furry mind. All who went there would be presented with a sense of quietness and scenery,a just location for those who wanted some place to ponder or do their tasks in peace. The river was blue in color with the sound of the water crashing down upon the jagged rocks that jutted up from the water's depth. It was a common area for animals to come and go to replenish their thirst but Farrell spent more time there then he should singing and humming to his hat while he waited for prey to pass by. He snapped out of his imaginative dream disturbed by the sound of the shinobi talking."Fabric? Easy! Tents!He declared trotting over to one of the camp tents which had survived the onslaught though was on the verge of collasping and extending his claws out of his paw tore it through the cloth cutting off a piece of material from the tent and clasping it within his mouth strode back to the man, a trimuphant look on his face.

He eyed the weapon Sidewinder talked about curiously. Farrell had never heard of such a thing. This man whoever he was, was very unique and he was almost too pleased to accpect the offer of residing with them while his hat was repaired and remade."The path to the river is short but contains many dangers. Not all are as nice and welcoming as I am."He added raising a paw to gesture towards the forest composed of the tall trees swaying here and there in the gentle wind breeze. After all, foxes were not the only creatures that roamed here. There were other carnivores and brutal animals that roamed these lands who would love nothing more than to turn Sidewinder into a dinner meal. The fox was not a fighter but if push came to shove, he could hold his own though he hated it. But in this world, you were either on top of the food chain or you were at the bottom. As it stood right now, happy, little Farrell the Fox was at the very bottom."Come! We must go!"He remarked starting to trot towards the forest glancing back at the shinobi. It was time to brave the dangers and make their way to the Flowing Peace River. A set of yellow dull eyes watched the duo's every move from a undisclosed spot close to the camp."Excellent...most excellent..my young hatchling."A grin spread across the mysterious creature's face.

 

[Kaguya Jikan]

The sun began it's setting phase as the lights danced through the forest. Jikan had seemingly made a new friend as he saw the jagged teeth of the fox, it made him smile under his mask and think about how cool a jagged tooth stencil would look on his ANBU Mask. He was always thinking about different ANBU mask designs as his masks were made of his own bone and he designed them intricately. The one he adorned now was a blank mask with the normal eye and mouth slits. At the mouth there were three lines that went to the left of the mask and curled. He called this mask in particular "Wind's Whisper." Focusing his attention back to the fox he listened to what it had to say.

"Flowing peace river huh, sounds tranquil. A place to craft a fine hat and maybe find a deer I've been searching for, You ever had deer? It's delicious and the market in Kumogakure doesn't carry it, only way to get it is order it for insane amounts of money, or the free route, which we will be taking."

Jikan was betting the answer was no, a deer is too large for a fox to hunt right? But then again, foxes don't usually talk so it wasn't too far of a stretch to think Farrell has had some sort of deer in his life. He heard another grumble from his stomach and moved his hand to rub his belly. As Farrell returned with the cloth, Jikan took it from his precious little mouth and stuck it in a pouch on his right hip. "Yes, this shall do!" His excitement was peeking through but this adventure had got him giddy inside and he could feel the excitement exuding off Keri as well. And it was only the first day of the venture.

Farrell warned Jikan of the dangers ahead, "I'm always ready for danger, my job thrives on it. Are you familiar with the Shinobi here? In my village I am a watchful eye and protector of the people, and of course I enforce the laws of the village too." He had always prided himself on being a part of ANBU - it was no easy task to undertake a career in being out of sight out of mind. He didn't have many friends in cloud because of his profession so the kind fox was a nice change of pace.

As farrell set off in a trot, Jikan followed while thinking about the hat. He let Farrell take the lead, at least he didn't have to hack down more undergrowth to get to the river. "Don't be alarmed" he warned as jagged bone shot from his right hand, splintering skin and cloth alike. "I go through a lot of clothes so I have some skill in tailoring" He had ejected his stencil kit, which consisted of bones varying in sizes, most of them small for intricate design. He took a mental image of the hat and compared it to his sizing bone, the trickiest part about making bone equipment was getting the large pieces done first, they hurt the most. With a flick of his wrists the bones returned to the inside of Jikan, this was due to Keri who sent him an alert that shot up his spine.

'You're right Keri, now isn't the time. We'll wait to make camp." Even though his excitement was getting the better of himself, Farrell said there was danger so he shouldn't get too preoccupied.

"I've got some snacks to tide us over, if you'd like." He moved next to Farrell and kept pace while offering the fox some of the assorted nuts and berries he retrieved from one of his belt pouches. He would eat what the fox didn't or get another handful to toss into his mouth. "Keeping energy up is important if there is danger lurking."

[MFT - 653 Words]
[Total WC: 3540]

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

The little fox led the way venturing deep into the forested underbrush, the Kumo shinobi in tow, his eyes darting this way and that keeping an eye out for any potential threats. Farrell shook his head at the mention of deer, the thought of it making his mouth water as he munched on the variety of nuts and berries that SIdewinder offered. The spry fox was beginning to like the man, perhaps too much."No deer, only once, deer is very diffcult to catch for a fox, we only manage in packs."He added as they trotted along coming to a thick part of the jungle where vines hung off the trees and there was barely any light, the huge trees casting large shadows over the ground and there was an assortment of cobwebs all around, perhaps indicating the presence of some unwanted critters. The fox's ears perked up as he sunk into a crouch and looked back at Sidewinder, all of his happiness gone replaced by a very serious looks, his eyes alight with a sort of alertness, it was like he was in his predatory mode."We must tread carefully here, we are passing through a rival fox's territory, other foxes do not take kindly to intruders." He said sniffing the air and nodding. The scent of something sinister was afoot and Farrell watched where he put his every step, nearly jumpiing upon witnessing a spider scuttle down a branch. His soft padded feet made barely any noise on the grassy surface but animals had keen hearing, foxes could hear quite well and had a quite a good sense of smell, surely his foe would have sensed him by now. They were nearly through the accursed part of the forest when the duo would hear the crunching of leaves as feet rushed towards them and Farrell turned dreading to see what he saw and bared his fangs growling.

In front of them stood a rival predator, it was a rival fox but unlike the traditonal orange color, it's fur was almost entirely black with a scar over one of it's eyes which gleamed red as it grinned revealing a set of gleaming sharp fangs as it approached the duo calmly ignoring the growls from it's smaller counterpart."Well,well,well...what do we have here. A human creature and if I am not mistaken, Farrell the Fox..."The rival animal said extending it's claws from its paws as it paced around them in a circle."You of all creatures should know better than to tread into my hunting lands, Farrell..my oh my...guess we will have to resolve this the good old way, no?"The fox said almost purring in a sense as Farrell simply growled in response extending his own claws."It appears you are without that primtive hat of yours,, good riddance to that."The black-haired carnivore said turning his attention to the man."Oh, a human."He said almost in a bored tone."You know, there were some of your folk that passed through not too long ago, funny folk, wore these silly things around their heads, nevertheless, they found out what it means to trespass in the Shadow Fox's land and you are about to as well. I'll gladly hear your last words now."He said extending himself up to his full height to profess his dominance.

The Shadow Fox​

Current Status:Hostile​

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

Due to inactivity in the thread, this is now a failed contract search​