snowchild | PSL | test drive

Entry tags:

ic | psl

PSL | test drive | sunshineverse

[ It's been just days since the destruction of the nameless Mt. Odori settlement Konayuki called home, but already the scene has been coated in feet of heavy snow that obscure the splintered walls, scattered possessions and numerous graves. The only tracks are hers, her fur boots leaving light, paw-like imprints in the fresh snow from various bundles of flowers away towards a sheltered bluff away from the village proper.

Sure would suck for anyone who needed information from the Itezora clan, really. ]

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[ It had been quite some time since he'd been sent this far out, but a solo mission was just what the jounin had needed to get back into the swing of active duty. With his thick cloak wrapped tight around his body to shield from the violently chilling winds, Kakashi rose a gloved hand to shift his hitai-ate into his hair, revealing the scarlet pinwheel of his sharingan; a minute etching of color in the otherwise pallid scene.

His intel had told of a nomad clan who found their habitat cushioned in the high slopes of the mountain, but on Kakashi's path he saw nothing of the sort. Carnage was the best word for it. Destruction. Some powerful force had hit and taken all life with it, and recently too if the lack of snow cover in places was anything to go by. The flowers fluttered in the gale, surprisingly peaceful in their movements despite the sheer might of the wind.

His mouth steeled.

Footsteps caught his eye, the only trace of life in the otherwise undisturbed wreckage, and instinct led him to follow in their path all the way to their destination, to the mouth of a darkened hideaway.

Could it be possible that there was a survivor, or would he come face to face with the massacres culprit? ]

Show yourself!

Why?

[ The bright, childish voice cut through the wind, coming as it did from behind him, and, even better, from somewhere below his waist. What a strange man to be standing in front of the journey cave; knowing she'd been followed from the shift in the blizzard, Konayuki had circled around in an attempt to meet up with the visitor. And, naturally, had completely missed him until he'd stopped and called out. ]

I'm here!

[ He leapt back, a flurry of cloth sweeping up into the air as he span to brandish a kunai forwads into the space at his back--
But the blade came away clean. The air was uninhabited by life or presence, and it wasn't until Kakashi glanced downwards that he noticed a great tuft of hair and the face of a small child beaming up at him. ...Well, it certainly wasn't the missing-nin he'd been expecting. He was unsure if that was a good thing or not. ]

Ah....

[ He sheathed his blade with a quick movement, and soon it was almost as if it had never seen the light of day, tucked neatly back into his holster. ]

... Hello.

[ She watched the knife disappear back into ... somewhere, since she couldn't catch the whole movement, but instantly forgot all about it in the face of the far more interesting person in front of her. ]

Hello! Who might you be? Would you like to come in? It's cold out here for land-dwellers, right?

[ Apparently anticipating agreement - or perhaps being unable to imagine otherwise - she was already pattering past him into the cave. True enough, when she moved aside the animal hide covering the entrance, the light of a fire could be seen further inside. ]

[ For a brief moment he was left standing outside the cave alone, completely floored by the strange exchange he'd just been a part of.. though it apparently wasn't over yet.

He leaned into the cave, giving it a sly glance around before entering. ]

I'm a foreigner... I'm looking for someone who was last seen around here, you haven't seen anyone wearing a plate like this, have you?

[ He tapped the metal over sloped across his forehead with a chilly finger. ]

A plate? [ Kakashi, she can't see up that high. ]

[ ...Oh. With a small chuckle he ducked his head, kneeling down with his weight on his calves, and tapped his hitai-ate again. ]

Sorry. Something like this?

[ That's much better. She giggled as he knelt, but made a good show of examining the headband. ] Ah, something like that!

[ Hmmmmmmmmm. ]

I've never seen one before.

[ He sighed and shook his head, but a smile was evident in the way his eyes creased at the corners. ]

Never mind.

[ He stretched to his full height again, with all intentions of leaving their conversation where it stood... but something was weighing on his mind. ]

Do you know what happened to the settlement at the peak?

Our village? Ah, um. An avalanche destroyed it a few days ago.

[ An avalanche? At the peak of a mountain? ]

I see..

[ He nodded his easy acceptance. Recognizing that she had probably lost her family to whatever disaster had struck her village - natural or otherwise - was as easy as looking in the mirror. Irony unintentional. ]

It's a nice place you have here. Very homely.

Isn't it? It was our storage cave. [ She was, in fact, terribly proud of how well she'd managed to set up a hearth and reasonable facsimile of her house inside it. ]

Oh! Uncle, what might your name be? Mine is Konayuki. Itezora Konayuki.

[ Uncle? Well, he'd been called worse. ]

Hatake Kakashi. It's good to meet you, Konayuki.

Uncle Kakashi? It's nice to meet you too. [ She wasn't particularly good with adults, but it was obvious that he was preparing to go. ]

Um, did you need something from our clan? Could I be of assistance?

[ He knew an orphan when he saw one - he'd seen enough - and the offer of assistance was a thin veil for her true intention. ]

Hm.. You could help me find a little food, if it's not too much trouble? Silly me, earlier I tripped over a root and lost all my supplies in the snow.

[ The way she visibly brightened was akin to the sun coming up; her previous smiles were nothing to this. ]

Of course! I have plenty of jerky, and I even saved some dried vegetables... And there might be a little bit of fish from the summer, I think. [ She'd spun and started to rummage through various baskets and stone caches near the cooler, drier side of the cave before she finished speaking. ]

[ He was a practical man, and that practicality told him that wandering around in a snowstorm was not fit for tracking, especially when the wind was blowing down the mountainside. He could waste a little time with her, for sure. ]

Whatever you can spare.

[ He took it upon himself then to shed his cloak and the small pack at his back, and settled on the floor close by the fire to reach out and warm his frozen fingers. ]

[ In record time, he had a plate set in front of him piled high with haphazardly-arranged meats and slices of roots, with one entire salted fish buried somewhere in the pile and recognisable only by the tail poking out from under a radish, and she was setting a large bucket of snow to melt by the fire. Hospitality thus provided, she sat down across from him, and apparently settled in to watch him eat. ]

Where did you come from? I've never heard of a land-dweller reaching our mountain before.

[ Well, that sure was a feast the likes of which he hadn't been expecting... but then she had said that this cave had been used for storage-- He wondered just how much of said stores was currently sitting before him. ]

Thank you.

[ He bowed his head shortly, before picking at the top-most section of the pile. ]

I'm a shinobi from the Land of Fire. I'm on a mission to locate someone who got a little lost out here when I stumbled on you.

[ A fair amount, but then she wasn't a large fan of vegetables or fish, and could always catch more animals. She's ten and what is long-term survival planning. ]

Lost? Hmm, since everyone else went away, it's just me left on the mountain... Ah, and Uncle Kakashi, of course.

[ Luckily for her, fish was always something he'd be happy eating - especially when it was dried and salted like the one in the pile seemed to be. Without the much of a leading movement, there appeared to be a little dent in the tip of the pile and when he spoke his cheeks were rounded. ]

Of course-

[ He swallowed and wiped at his mouth, apparently ignoring the fact that there was fabric there. ]

That's alright, I'm sure someone will find them eventually.

[ She blinked as the first bites disappeared from the plate, and leaned forward with a delighted gasp at the second. All of a sudden, he had created a new game. She only remembered to answer after she'd failed to catch the movement three more times. ]

That's right! There are only a few ways down from the peak, after all.

Mm, and I'm not the only one searching. So we're bound to win the game sooner or later.

[ Oh yes, he didn't miss the fact that she was obviously very into games, and a playful twinkle shone in his one open eye as he performed the same trick again and a few more vegetables disappeared behind his mask. ]

[ Hooray! She wanted to run out and tell everyone that that guy would be found, but would that mean he'd leave while she was out? Better not to chance it.

But then he did the Thing again, and she was hooked back. With an air of great anticipation, she filled a cup of water for him from the bucket, and held it out eagerly. ]

That's great!

[ He nodded, took the water, and in return he offered her a little of the morsel he had in his hand. Share and share alike. ]

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