sunshineverse | Some time in the wild

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Some time in the wild

Who: Abel Nightroad and [Open]
Where: The border along Rain and Fire
When: All week, April 14-20
Notes: Just out patrolling the border. Feel free to say 'hi'.

It was one of the few days where water wasn't falling from the sky. Abel was rather grateful for that, even if it did mean that the border between the Lands of Rain and Fire were muggy. He honestly didn't mind the humidity too much, having grown use to the nearly constant rain in Amegakure. Right now, he was simply enjoying the chance to get out and explore the border while keeping an eye out for others who might be trying to cross into the Land of Rain. The borders weren't closed any more, but it was always nice to know who was coming for a visit or simply passing through. Most of the time, the God of Ame already knew what was going on, but occasionally, his shinobi were sent out to patrol the borders.

The week long assignment gave Abel a chance to get out and stretch his legs and skills. He took weapons and basic supplies with him, preferring to live off the land when he went on these patrols. It always was interesting what he might find on such trips, either among the flora and fauna or in a more talkative version of a person. He wondered what he might find this week.

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He tilted his head and looked at her, seriously. "Why vacation here? There are other places closer to Kiri where one can take a few days for rest."

He wasn't relaxing at all, but he was willing to hear her out before he escorted her to the border or vanished into the trees himself.

"...And if the point is not to be closer to Kiri?" She hoped that said enough, even if it was probably a bit traitorous to say. The requirements to becoming an Anbu were a bit unknown, but she was relatively certain that running away from the homeland all the time wasn't something they looked for in any of their candidates. That suited her fine- jounin was all she was aiming for.

"I'm not even that far in. Don't tell me I can't even pick flowers from Ame." Slowly, she let her fans close although she didn't lower them. Things didn't seem like they would get violent...

"Then I would say that you're not the first one of that land to find a place to be 'not closer to Kiri'." He relaxed a bit more at that comment, leaning against the tree in a casual slouch.

"And you can pick flowers. I'm not going to stop you," he remarked with a shrug. "I'm just out to see who is here along the border."

So 'no violence' was confirmed for now. Awkwardly, Ava went to put away her fans and glanced momentarily at her flowers before looking back up. "Are you just going to stand there like a weirdo while I pick flowers, then?"

He shrugged. "You have not asked for assistance and I would not wish to impose," he pointed out with a small smile that he wasn't truly feeling.

However, he did bend down and scoop up the few flowers that had landed at his feet before offering them back.

"No, I mean..." Another pause as she stared at the flowers like they were going to come to life and bite her. Not that she thought the strange ninja in front of her could control plants like that... but she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. Finally, with no small amount of hesitation, she reached over to take them back.

"Don't you have anything to do besides hanging around?"

He raised a brow at her words before looking at her. "The safety of Ame and the Land of Rain is important to my lord. There is nothing else I have to do that is more important."

He smirked at her. "So no, I don't have anything to do besides hanging around."

She didn't have the distinct silver hair of the Nightroad clan, and he wasn't even sure she was from a bloodline clan. He was curious about that, but not enough to ask outright.

"I'm not going to set the forest on fire or anything, you know." Well, that wasn't in her plan, anyway. Something being set on fire by the end of the month, if not multiple somethings, but things happened. You could never tell what would happen.

Still keeping her eyes on him, she bent down to try and pick up some more of the flowers she'd been gathering. "No missions or anything? Or-" What did people do on their spare time? She didn't know his hobbies or anything. "Or a girlfriend or something?"

"Bloodline? Or just an affinity for fire?" he inquired. "I do not know of any fire bloodlines in Kiri."

He honestly was a bit surprised that she hadn't identified him as a Nightroad clan member, but perhaps the Ame hitae-ate was throwing her off. Of course, he wasn't going to come right out and identify himself as such as that would be the quickest way to get the hunter-nins at their doorstep.

It was more that Ava simply didn't care much about the politics of her home, or the varying families there unless she had to work with a ninja from one. As far as she was concerned, ultimately, it didn't concern her. Ultimately, she was an outsider in her own village... but she was okay with that. She had different dreams.

So, fortunately for Abel, she didn't recognize anything about him. The comment did make her tense, however, and she straightened up with a frown on her face. "Well, what would someone from Ame know anything about Kiri? Besides, you don't need a bloodline to set things on fire, just a match. Ame is full of swamps, right? It's not like I can drown anything." That was one of the many excuses she'd made for herself, anyway, to excuse herself to most people outside of Kiri.

"You don't think we wouldn't keep an eye on Kiri? It's one spark away from a civil war between the bloodline and the non-bloodline clans," Abel lied smoothly even as he silently cursed himself for revealing too much of his knowledge of Kiri.

He chuckled. "And it is true you don't need a bloodline to start something on fire, but if you wish anything in Ame to continue burning, one would certainly help."

Ouch. So it was that obvious even to outsiders. Ava deflated a little bit. "I'd say it's more like civil war between everyone, personally..." She kept herself out of it all, but it was impossible to stay out of the action unless you left the country. Even then, you couldn't stay away from it forever, not if you had to return for your apartment and for missions...

"I guess swamps make things difficult like that..." Not something she was really a stranger too, although not with swamps specifically. Just... lots of other things in Kiri, like the rain.

"There's a simple answer to not getting caught in such a fight," Abel remarked with a casual shrug. "Even if the price might be a bit high."

He had paid that price and found himself much more happy and at peace for such a desperate decision.

"That's not the first time I've heard something like that, you know." Mostly from the demon inside her own head... Ava started to pick at the flowers in her hands subconsciously, not thinking much about it. "But sometimes prices like that are too high, right? You can't run away from everything."

"I wouldn't think of it as running away but running to a new home," Abel said, looking at her seriously. "Shinobi are suppose to be loyal to their villages, but in return, the villages are suppose to be loyal to their shinobi. Training, support when needed, a place to live, and basic human necessities, but when the shinobi is loyal and the village isn't, there is always a problem."

He shook his head. "My advice is just that, advice. But ask yourself this; if Kiri was loyal to you, why are you taking a vacation far away from it?"

"Because civil wars are stupid." There was more to it than that, of course, and it probably showed in the peculiar way Ava's mouth twisted. Things like that weren't what you shared with random Ame shinobi anyway. Actually, it was more like something you didn't share with anyone else at all.

Ava shrugged off the pack she had slung around her shoulders, and started to stuff the flowers she had gathered into it. "When things like that happen, you can't really say if it's a matter of trust or not, right?"

"They are, but when enough people are mistreated for something they can't control, they're bound to happen," Abel said with a shrug. "But if there was true trust between Kiri and its shinobi, then there wouldn't be nearly enough mistreatment for a civil war."

He reached out and picked a sky blue flower. Then he carefully placed it in her hair, just behind her ear. "Food for thought."

She opened her mouth to protest the petty flower theft- or at least that's what she thought it was- only to snap it shut again as it was tucked in her hair. Other shinobi from other lands would never stop being weird to her...

"Is there anyplace where they're actually treated right? I mean, if there was, then we would have places like Kirigakure or Amegakure to begin with." She gave a shake of her head. With all the missions she had taken up, she didn't exactly have a lot of faith.

He hummed and crouched down to look at her. "I'm a bloodline shinobi," he stated. "I know how those of us whose only sin is to be born into one of those clans are treated in Kirigakura. In Amegakure, my lord, the God of Ame, doesn't tolerate prejudice and fear against his bloodline shinobi. Of course, he also doesn't tolerate bullying against non-bloodlines either."

The he stood up and took a few steps back. "Yes, there is fighting and disagreements. Ame isn't perfect, but here, I don't have to be afraid to walk down the street just because I'm a bloodline."

His crouch down only made her take another step back, as if there was something to be wary of. At least that explained something about why he kept bringing up bloodline shinobi, although it was probably obvious.

"Have you been to Kiri, then, and experienced that?" A pause. "You probably shouldn't visit there right now whatever your answer is. Travel's not safe." But when was it ever?

"The only time I will ever go to Kiri is as a corpse," he drawled before bowing to her. "Have a pleasant time picking flower."

Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Some time in the wild

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