sunshineverse | Raise It Up

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Raise It Up

Who: Ava Ire and anyone
Where: All along the very edges of Fire's borders, from Wave to Rain
When: From April 20th to 26th
Notes: Open for anyone! Besides being found on the roads, Ava can be found in the small towns on Fire's east and north borders and in the Lands of Whirlpool, Rice, Fang, Waterfall, Grass, and Rain. She won't be spending too much time in any of them if she has her way, but that is always liable to change.

"That pig gutted, rat minded filthy shit!"

Those had been the words Wrathia had hissed out when Ava had spoken with her, every syllable bubbling over like white hot lava. It wasn't often that Ava did decide to often speak with Wrathia, not when there was so much to do. However, at times, it felt almost twistedly comforting to know that there was always someone she could go to and confide in because they had no where else to go besides with her always. Wrathia was even seeming to make an effort to maybe be nicer, or at least she wasn't spitting out insults 24/7.

Besides, her mission had... sprung up something unexpected, something both Ava and Wrathia knew their client had to have known. Their target was much more heavily guarded than had been described to them. It seemed like they were a lot more important too. That wasn't what either of them had been angry about. If it was a challenge, they could handle it. But the fact that they'd lied to them about things... Important things that might have gotten any other Kiri ninja killed... That was enough to piss both elder and younger kunoichi off. The nerve.

Ava had still went through with it, of course, even if the rage churned in the pit of her stomach and burned at the back of her throat. Dangerous or not, she didn't have much of anything to fear. Once her target had settled down to rest in the abode that had been offered, she'd set off to start. Everything had begun with just a little fire, something easy enough to dismiss as a candle that'd been left burning and caught something alight. Then more fires, more flames twisting and consuming in an excited blaze, and, well, there went the 'accidental death' excuse. It had been a pretty weak Plan A, but it did accomplish one thing: it filled the building with smoke. Smoke that blinded, smoke that stifled.

That had made it easy for Ava, tiny little Ava who was so used to hunching up her shoulders and going unnoticed, to dart in the midst of all that smoke and go mostly unseen while the house was in a panic. It certainly didn't help the shinobi of that town, their sharp noses more a downfall than any help. Ava had done her best to ignore all of them, striking out with a flick of her fan and a roar of fire to act as deterrent. All the chaos helped make it easier for her to get to her target. More flames to divide the bodyguards, and then a hop.

Fans weren't made for slicing. The first impact against his neck broke bone. But then the heat got through a second later, seared through everything... Decapitation. Ava hadn't stuck around after that. Just burned a hole through walls and ran through the night as fast as she could. She had a souvenir sticking through her back and out from her chest, courtesy of the bodyguards who had made a lucky throw, but had jerked it out and set it ablaze... only to promptly fall unconscious into the river she had run to. It hadn't taken too long for the Pact to do its work, binding flesh together once again and shocking her awake. She'd dragged herself wet and tired onto shore before moving on- away from her homeland instead of to it.

The client had been very strict, after all. There was no one to know that Kiri had been given that mission. Secrecy instead of flashiness. So besides burning the things which had covered her hair and face during the mission, Ava went on the move again.

And that's why Ava found herself wandering, after a time of moving through the forests to make sure she wasn't being pursued, along the paths that bordered between Fire and some of its neighbors.

Those on the roads would see a very disgruntled and tired little girl, long dark red hair a tangled mess and bags beneath her oddly colored eyes. The state of her clothes wasn't much better, including a puncture through the front of her shirt that had a mirror double on its back. Instead of a proper traveling pack, she only carried a small messenger bag slung across her chest and over her shoulders.

Perhaps because of her meager amount of supplies, one could also find her in towns here and there. Mostly smaller towns just to get a quick bite or gather up supplies again. Her journey took her along through the lands on Fire's East and North sides, along with whatever small Fire towns were there as well. Sometimes one could spot her investigating a stall or a shop, or might run into her while she was getting a quick meal. The farther along she got, the more she took her time.

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When she had reached the border of Rain, Abel had been sent out to see what had brought her back so quickly as he had previous experience with her. He silently followed her through the trees, never staring at her but past her to keep the 'eyes on the back of the neck' feeling from happening.

She looked rough, and Abel wondered what her mission had been. That was the only reason he could think of to not only bring her back here but also have her looking like she had gone a month without sleep. Had her mission gone wrong? Was that why she was heading this way instead of back to Kiri?

Even with how careful Abel was being, after spending her days running and on high alert, Ava couldn't get get rid of a feeling. Like an itch she couldn't scratch or a word just barely on the tip of her tongue. It left her feeling twitchy and anxious, fingers aching to whip out her fans just in case. But she couldn't do that, just kept walking and did her best not to look any different than she had before.

Eventually, however, she couldn't take it. She came to a stop in the middle of the path and pulled out a folded map from her bag. With it out in her hands and her head bowed so that her hair was falling around her face, she could fake reading it. In truth, she was doing something... a bit more risky, something that left her vulnerable. She took a breath and closed her eyes.

"I'm not going crazy, right? Is there someone following me?"

It always felt strange to go into this strange mental space she and Wrathia shared. Sure, she had a form here, but it was all noxious pink and... disconnected. Her partner was different, all angry oranges and tinges of suspicious red. The other just clicked her tongue and scoffed.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Kiri Jounin don't second guess themselves so much!" That just earned a glare from Ava and Wrathia rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. As someone who knows what she's doing, then yes, you are. But if they haven't attacked yet..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, scarlet eyes narrowed.

"I got it." And Ava opened her eyes again so she could glance around, hoping nothing had happened while she'd been 'away'.

Now Abel knew something was wrong. She was holding the map upside down. Rolling his eyes, he quietly swung down from a tree in front of her and walked over to her.

"You look rough," he greeted. "Bad mission?" He wasn't fishing for information, just a confirmation that she needed someplace to escape to for a few hours.

Ava's hands acted before her brain did, dropping the map in a heartbeat so that her fans could replace it. Even when she saw who it was, she only eased up a little bit. Oh. It was this guy.

"Sorta." She gave a jerky sort of shrug. "The client lied to us about something."

He nodded, knowing how that happened some times.

"Two questions," he said. "One, was the mission against the Land of Rain or Ame itself?"

He didn't think so, but he wanted to clear his conscious before asking his second question.

That question just earned a particularly annoyed look. "I still haven't set your dumb swamp on fire," she replied huffily, shoulders hunching a little bit. "So no. What's the other question?"

He inclined his head to her. "Would you like a safe place for some recovery time?"

There were a few spots around the border that he had stashed some things at to make small bolt holes when he needed to get out for a bit or if there was a reason he had to do a long patrol around the border.

"...Huh?" The word just fell from her mouth, a little dumbfounded as she started up at him. She'd been making due on her own for her whole journey, not daring to stay in any of the villages just in case. To have an offer like that was a bit surprising. Her expression recovered, a bit uncertain and hesitant.

"Why would you offer a safe space to me? What if you got in trouble?"

"I won't get in trouble because all I'm doing is helping someone in need. The fact that you're a shinobi is irrelevant," he said with a shrug. "And you look like you need a safe space for a day or two. It's just inside the border, and if you want, I can carry you there."

Helping someone in need sounded like it could get someone in a lot of trouble, especially considering she was a shinobi... Still, after seeming to think on it, she gave a nod only for it to be followed by a scowl.

"I'm fifteen, you know. I can walk. I've been doing it for the last few days."

He shrugged again. He had offered only because he didn't know how hurt she was.

"Then keep up," he offered only to jump into the trees again. It was not only the quickest way to the closest cave, but it would also keep anyone from following them in the traditional way.

Fortunately, what she lacked in long legs, Ava made up for in speed. She followed right behind Abel, movements quick and plentiful as she got herself into the trees. She was used to following taller people and it showed as she followed after him.

"Hey, you know, I don't think I ever got your name before when I was picking flowers."

Abel chuckled. "Abel of Ame," he replied, leading the way towards the rocky mountains. "And how was your vacation last time?"

"A little better when there wasn't a weirdo watching me!" She didn't really mean it in any hostile way, really. Besides, she was a bit too preoccupied with leaping from branch to branch and keep an eye on her back. Just in case.

"You can not tell me that Kiri doesn't watch foreign shinobi in their borders," Abel countered with a snort.

He landed on a ledge and moved around behind some bushes. It was a fairly large and comfortable cave with a few cracks to let smoke out and some dry firewood stacked against one wall. In the back were a couple of blankets and a first-aid kit. Abel nodded to them as he went to get a fire started. "Help yourself."

As she landed herself, Ava dusted off her clothes although it didn't really help much. "Well, you'll never know because you won't ever go there, right? That's what you said before."

With that out of the way, she ducked into the bushes as well. There was a moment as she just took a moment to look around to calm down her own thoughts. When Abel moved to get the fire started, she finally started towards the blankets. "Thanks... Even if I don't really get it."

"Try walking through the Land of Fire and see how soon a shinobi from Konoha wanders up and asks you how you're doing," Abel remarked, digging out his flint and tender and getting a small fire started.

"And get what?" he asked, glancing back at her.

"They don't usually tuck a flower in my hair..." Clearly that had been the strangest part of the encounter. Being watched wasn't anything new, even if it still annoyed Ava.

Taking a blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders, she sat down with her legs crossed. Slowly, she began to untangle the mess that was her hair. "Why you'd help."

"Because I was in a position to need help one time in my life, and it was very unexpected when I received it," Abel confessed with a slight shrug. He pulled out a small comb from his pocket and offered it to her.

"As for the rest of it, let me make a few guesses," he said, a thoughtful look on his face. "You're not heading towards Kiri which means that whatever the mission was, you can't let it lead back there, yet the fact that you look so rough means you didn't have backup on it either. So, you either need to keep running until the coast is clear or you fall over from exhaustion, or you hole up somewhere for a couple of days, rest and recover before heading back out to lose whatever trail you might have picked up."

If there was one thing that was frustrating, it was observant shinobi from other countries. Ava's mouth gave a bit of a twist as she frowned, giving a particularly hard tug through a tangle of hair. "For one thing, I haven't fallen over from exhaustion." At least, not since she started traveling. The beginning...

"And I don't really need to recover from anything. I just look like a mess, but I'm not hurt." Well, the scars that were visible on her arms and necks were from something else entirely. While she hadn't checked in a while, she was pretty sure the wounds she'd taken on her mission had healed up too.

"I'm not gonna answer yes or no to anything, just so you know." That was between her, Kiri, and the client after all.

"Not asking for a definite answer," Abel remarked, digging out some trail rations before offering her some. "It's not a home cooked meal, but they'll fill you up and help replace whatever you lost."

He wasn't going to mention any scars, and there were those rumored to heal nearly overnight so he wasn't overly concerned about any injuries she had. Especially since she didn't seem to be bleeding anywhere.

"So why did you bring it up?" Despite her own questioning, Ava took the trail rations without complaint. The thought that it might be poisoned flickered in her mind before she dismissed it. Just plain drugged was more of a worry.

"...Um, thanks anyway."

Abel shrugged. "To see what you might say."

He pulled out trail rations for himself and settled across the fire from her, content to eat his food. He was highly curious as to what information she hadn't been given about the mission, but he wasn't going to ask.

At least not yet. Maybe if she grew a bit more comfortable around him.

That earned a slight scowl before Ava finally decided to start eating. As long as he didn't pressed anymore, she'd be content with silence. Besides a brief stop in a small town, after all, she'd had to be used to it.

After a moment, she started to wiggle a bit closer to the fire. Being dunked in water like that hadn't done anything for her health, especially considering everything. Even now, it still bothered her a bit. Heat like this was more than welcome.

He saw her move closer to the fire and leaned over to add a few more logs to it, letting the flames grow a bit more. "Do you need anything? Antidotes? Bandages? Supplies?"

It wasn't to be nosy. More of a professional courtesy between shinobi.

"Huh?" She looked over to him, blinking her way out of her daze. "Oh, no, I'm fine... I mean.." Ava ducked her head down again, tugging a little at her hair. It was a pretty shallow request...

"Do you have a spare hairbrush?"

"I have a spare comb," he offered, digging into his pack and pulling one out. It was a cheap plastic thing, but he found those worked pretty good on the long missions. He smiled and held it out to her. "Here you are. Unless you'd like a bit of help with your hair?"

"No, I'm used to combing my own hair." Reaching out to take it, she tried to offer the best smile she could muster up. Which wasn't much, but... It was the thought that counted, right? "Besides... 'You could stab me in the back', and all that. I'm technically still on my mission... so I have to be careful."

Abel chuckled and nodded as he sat back, giving her space. "I think the only back stabbing that will happen here will be to some of those vicious tangles you're wearing."

He could understand that she was still technically on her mission, which is another reason he didn't press her for answers.

Ava puffs out her cheeks. "I lost my own comb in a river, okay?" Probably when she was in it herself, although at least it was just an unimportant thing like that which got lost. "Besides, it's... probably not that bad. Right?"

"Your hair is longer than an inch in a country where rain is nearly constantly falling," he pointed out. "It's a mess which is why I keep my hair braided as often as possible."

The fact that he could hide extra weapons in his braid was a bonus. It really was.

Having that pointed out to her just made her cheeks puff out a bit and she stubbornly kept pulling at the knots. "I just don't know how to do my hair up nice like that."

"Well for one thing, you're going to pull yourself bald by yanking like that," he stated, moving over to sit in front of her. "Let me help and then I'll show you how to braid."

"Well..." Pausing, she let the comb just dangle, stuck in her hair for the moment. The idea obviously the most comfortable one she could think of, but after a moment she nodded. "Okay."

He took the comb, gently separated a clump of hair, and started to tease the knots out of it with gentle actions. "Ame for all its dampness is really a pleasant place to live."

She sat a bit awkwardly as he began, not sure what to do with her hands. Eventually, Ava just let them settle in her lap. "Um... That's nice to hear. I've never really visited."

He chuckled and shrugged slightly as he quickly, but efficiently, combed her hair out. "Well, it's something to talk about while I work on your hair."

He hummed. "Unless you want to pick a topic to talk about."

"Um..." Ava reached up as if to touch her hair before she paused and forced her hand down again. What was there to talk about? There was only one thing that really came to mind.

"Do you garden?"

"Actually yes," he admitted before braiding her hair. "I have a few flowers I grow in my apartment. What about you? Any hobbies you enjoy?"

Her eyes followed his hand movements, trying to store in her memory how it went. "I live in an apartment, so I can't have anything more than a couple potted plants. They die sometimes- since I'm on missions so much."

He hummed and nodded in understanding. "It's not easy," he agreed before tying off her braid. He reached into his bag and pulled out three small pieces of rope, tying them together at one end. "Okay, this is how you braid. It's great for hair or making a stronger rope."

He slowly went through the motions so she could learn.

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Raise It Up

April 23rd - because I had so much fun playing with you before.

Gneee that makes me happy to hear!

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sob I'm sorry it took so long

*laughs* It's all right. I understand RL

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laughs It's all right. I understand RL