PSL | test drive | sunshineverse

[snowchild]

[ 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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[snowchild]

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

[scarecrowboy]

[ 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.

[snowchild]

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.

[scarecrowboy]

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

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

[snowchild]

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?

[scarecrowboy]

[ 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.

[snowchild]

[ 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. ]

[scarecrowboy]

[ 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. ]

[snowchild]

[ 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.

[scarecrowboy]

[ 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.

[snowchild]

[ 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.

[scarecrowboy]

[ 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.

[snowchild]

[ 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.

[scarecrowboy]

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. ]

[snowchild]

[ 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!

[scarecrowboy]

[ 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. ]

[snowchild]

[ And so the game continued, with a chirped thanks.

An hour or so later, and with her visitor well-fed and dozing, Kona manhandled him into the hammock a safe - but warm - distance from the fire, and slipped away with some of the leftovers to give the news to the others. ]

[scarecrowboy]

[ Apparently the travel had worn him out. Well, making a journey like the one from Fire to Ice in five days was an impressive feat, and to have done it without even the slightest batting of an eye was even more so.

He woke a while later, cracking his eye open into the room and immediately sensing his surroundings for any traces of life... When he found none, for a change he was actually surprised. ]

... Konayuki?

[ Shocked as he was that he'd let himself fall asleep in the company of a stranger - no matter how small and seemingly harmless she might have been - he was concerned about his host, and finding her absent put an extra beat to his pulse.

He exited the cave once he'd wrapped himself in his cape once more, and squinted through the dimming but still rather vicious winds in search of any sign of his tiny ward. ]

Konayuki!

[snowchild]

[ The place she'd headed towards wasn't particularly far; a cairn of stones near where the gates had stood, and her excited chatter was caught this way and that by the wind, racing to tell them everything before she returned. ]

Everyone, I'll definitely help him find that person, and... and then you'll know I'm safe. Right? After that- Ah! When the summer comes, I'll catch plenty of fish, and find all the berries I can, just like you showed me. So you don't have to worry at all.

[scarecrowboy]

[ He sprang into the cold without a second thought, sharingan blinking through the flurry his feet made as he trekked across the softened snow.
... When he found her, however, his footing stilled, and he remained stationary at a respectful distance. His unshielded eye caught every word over the wind from the movement of her lips-- and even though he'd guessed as much, he was still disheartened to find his assumptions were true.

It was reminiscent of the way he'd talked to his father, to his team, to all those he'd lost in recent years, and.... he was hardly surprised to find it hurt.

He stayed silent as she spoke, and remained so even after she was finished. ]

[snowchild]

I'll come again soon, okay?

[ She tucked the last few flowers and a plate of jerky amongst the foundation stones, and seemed to take a moment before marshalling herself, spinning around, and--

WHEN DID HE GET HERE. ]

Ah, uncle! I thought you were asleep..!

[scarecrowboy]

[ He tilted his head to the side, his mask pulling about his cheeks as obvious evidence for the smile he hid underneath. He raised a hand to try and help hide his amusement. ]

I was, and now I'm not.

[ His eyes - both of them - scanned the little shrine tucked into the snow, and he carefully padded closer. ]

Do you mind introducing me?

[snowchild]

[ Of course he'll want to meet everyone, so she just nodded and turned back to address the grave again. ]

Uncle-- no, Hatake Kakashi, this is the Itezora clan. Everyone, this is Uncle Kakashi, who I just told you about. He eats really fast, and smiles a lot, and climbed aaaall the way here on his own!

[ That last bit had an even wider gesture than usual, because it was just that impressive. Thus done with introductions, she looked expectantly at Kakashi. ] Um, they're listening. Would you like to say something to them?

[scarecrowboy]

[ He was thankful for the hand over his mouth, as it was difficult to keep his smile down to the muted little twitch of lips it usually was. He wasn't sure what it was about this little ray of sunshine, but her smile was definitely an infectious one. ]

Oh, I... uh. Yo~

[ Well, that was awkward. He cleared his throat, trying to salvage the situation before it set in. ]

You have a great little one here - she's got a lot of promise. You don't need to worry about her at all.

[snowchild]

[ Congratulations to Kakashi; he had just successfully flustered the ten-year-old. She'd never heard praise like that, especially not to her close family. ]

Ah, not at all... Thank you for saying so! I'm sure they're very reassured- right?

[ Obvious silence followed, but she didn't seem to mind. Almost shyly, she held up a hand. ] Let's go back, okay?