Re: Days of Spring (Collection)

Tue Apr 12, 2022 3:18 pm

The Uchiha descended, coming from the mountain like a creature ending hibernation. For days he had traveled there, returning in shifts with Damon to maintain their safety - particularly Komon’s. He was still in no condition to fight, nor in any sense conscious. The Hyuuga rested like within a perpetual nightmare. Dwindling chakra had ravaged his body - as it would with anyone. The Uchiha especially knew the affliction well. The powers afforded to their lineage were that of prowess, nigh unmatched, but they were demanding. In some instances, consecutive use of a jutsu could reduce them to a state similar to that of the Hyuuga resting within the tent.

Yurei emerged from the tree-lined mountain, stepping forth as a white silhouette amidst the green, near black shadows of the forest laden with snow. To the observer, it might have looked as if he was shifting in space between the branches, in and out of the snow, blending in among the powdery ice. It was not such an unrealistic notion. Should Yurei have chosen to, he could perform something quite similar - not at all different from what one would imagine was going on here.

But the chakra within him did not churn. He simply walked, opening himself up to the wintry air. It tugged at his hair and at his robes, pulling at him. He never yielded. To the Uchiha, it was as if walking through still air, a vacuum. He did not even notice the ice pelting him. The sheer cold.

WC: 250
TCW: 3052

Wed Apr 13, 2022 3:33 pm

Yurei had made several pilgrimages now, or so he called them, to the lake. Something drove him there, though what, he could not say. It was like a whisper amidst the snowy winds, a caress that pulled him away from the encampment - a nudge, no, a guiding hand as if he were blind. There was nothing nefarious or malicious in the sensation, none that Yurei could feel or discern. It felt as if the call of a friend or familiar voice, something he instinctively sought out not under duress, but curiosity, as one would move to greet another upon chance meeting. Yurei had never felt this sensation before, never to a place. To people, his comrades, perhaps, but this distant lulling was something ethereal and tender, yet tied intrinsically to this place - the snow, the water, the earth. It was physical.

Yurei’s footsteps met their end at the center of the lake once more. Had snow not long since covered his katana’s strike, he would have been able to see the slit closed off by ice and time. The land here was perfectly encased, preserved, but perverse to change. One could not leave a new mark here. Everything in Snow Country was destined to remain the same, a spot in time. A real-time fossil and moment in the past one could still interact with, wake up to. It was fitting such a place be granted with such a gift. Snow was rare in Haven Country, but, since his departure, Yurei had achieved a brand new sense of appreciation for the delicate weather. It was like glass. An hourglass.

WC: 268
TCW: 3320

Thu Apr 14, 2022 2:08 pm

He felt the world melting around him, like snow suddenly sweltering. The walls melded into paintings, abstract and like wax and oil. The mountaintop furled in on itself, white draining from its face and rolling forth, leaving a gray, narrow mass in its wake. It was a temple, sharp to a point - deadly. The snow had turned grave, to thunderous rain - far from delicate white. The sky blackened, darkening and overly ripened. The stench of the very air told Yurei so, the rot and decay. It was like breathing in musk and dampness - a strange humidity dangling in the air - sickeningly so. The earth beneath his feet crumbled, cracking and shaking violently in its metamorphosis. It was a distinct quaking, like music heralding a congregation - though not celebratory.

And then he woke, eyes snapping alongside his body, already raised and staring before him. A dream. A dream? Yurei’s hands rose to his eyes, massaging them beneath their lids. His face had quickly grown stoic and empty, and the features upon it weary. This was becoming tiresome. The Uchiha stood, relinquishing himself from the sheets. He stood, calling his tunic to his body and around it as he stepped forth into the night. The sun had not risen, and its honeyed glow had not yet warmed the sky. It was dark, cool, and the clouds hanging above the Uchiha erased any trace of the stars. The moon hid behind itself, too shy to shine onto the world. Its missing white glow left the snow blue and black.

WC: 256
TCW: 3567

Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:30 pm

It looked through him, staring back as he did it. Amidst the white landscape, it was dark - shadow. An artist’s rendering would not have used reds or blues to shade the contrast, to give it depth - but black. Black as pitch. The cave’s entrance sat in stark contrast, but it was alluring. It called out to Yurei, beckoning him to step inside. And so he did.

The window billowing around the landscape had ceased. There was not the sound of distant echoes, nor the faint note of air through an instrument. The cave was deadened to the rest of the world. It was like stepping into a different realm entirely - one completely separated. The interior was as dark as it seemed. Light seemed to die out as one entered, the glistening ice shifting to matte rock that did more to absorb the light than reflect it, even amidst the snow’s bright white glow.

The earth around him felt loud, even if the cave was completely silent. It was like static, a low droning that rang through his skull down to the tips of his fingers. It was almost painful, but Yurei endured, pressing his long fingers against the cave’s walls to follow the path before him. The deeper he pursued, the darker his surroundings became, and the louder that droning felt. Yurei raised his hand, following his chakra into his palm, fire sparked, crackling in his grip, then emitting a soft, warm light. It hugged the contours of Yurei’s face, but the cave remained shrouded.

WC: 255
TCW: 3822

Sat Apr 16, 2022 10:04 pm

Yurei stopped, eyes gazing around the darkness, clinging to glean something. He turned, staring back at the entrance. It was no longer there. He sat in a pool, submerged, waters surging around him - drowning him at the very bottom of an endless ocean. The droning in his body felt like pressure caving him in, burying him. Oppressive, suffocating.

White eyes shone through the darkness, and the cave came alight. It surged with brilliant blues and translucent whites, energy encompassing every rock, stalagmite, and crevice. He knew these colors - these sensations. The droning in the back of his head was not oppressive, nor had he been submerged in darkness. No - it was a chorus, begging to be sung. It was chakra. But who commanded it? What was it tethered to? Was this some sort of genjutsu? And why here, of all places?

Yurei’s eyes flashed once more, and the darkness fell. The fire he clasped in his hand shone once more, and the cave’s walls glistened with its orange glow. He stepped forward, narrowing his gaze from beneath his mask. Water returned to his ears, and the constant dripping echoed like a small drum. He continued, footsteps now clacking against the rock where they had been silent before. Light, fragile and faint, glistened forth, peering out from the grooves and turns of the cave. It was blue and white, cool, and Yurei noted the dropping temperature as he continued. It felt as if he were returning to the outside, but he was certain he had not looped around. No, this was different.

WC: 261
TCW: 4083

Mon Apr 18, 2022 10:08 am

The cave was alight with pale light, as if the night sky was clear and the moon hung just above his head. The chamber housed crystals in every crack and crevice, the ceiling and the cave floor. They fluttered and pulsed with energy, glowing, radiating. Yurei’s eyes narrowed, stunned by the sudden brightness. When they had adjusted, he moved forward, reaching out to the crystal nearest to him. He felt it push away at his grip, like the pressure between opposing magnets - an invisible field he felt but could not see.

Or could he?

Tomoe swirled in his eyes, and the Sharingan appeared. Looking through the cave now, he saw it - chakra. Every crystal shown with its power. It was in the air, coursing through them as it was his own body. Brilliant colors, more than he thought was possible for the eye to witness, and yet, they were here. He could only guess at what a more precise doujutsu would witness in this cave, but here, the Sharingan was more than enough. He could not see the fibers of which they were made, nor count how many with a simple thought, but he could see - and that was enough. It was like staring at a painting, moving and coursing around - never finished. But each stroke was perfect. There was not a singular mistake before him, no matter how many times the painting shifted. With every blink or change of glance, a new painting was captured before his very eyes.

And yet, it did not move him. Before him, amidst all the chakra, he saw it for what it was - a medium. And, beyond that, power. It was almost heartbreaking.

WC: 280
TCW: 4363

Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:27 pm

Yurei left the cave, stepping out into the glistening snow. It was almost night. Damon would be up soon. He turned back to look at the cave’s entrance, narrowing his eyes, then looked to his hand. A small glowing crystal pulsed in his grip, illuminating his black bandages in a pale blue-white light. He eyes rose up at that cave - its darkness. It called out to him. Groans of many, like a chorus.

And then he turned, his mane of hair working in the winds. The stars began to shine through the sky, and he took note of their location, this cave’s location. He would have to come back when things were more stable. Such phenomena were rare. Pure nature chakra without the use of a summons. Or perhaps a summons had created them. Nonetheless, the genjutsu encasing the cave would surely act enough as a deterrent for any trespassers. For now, this was Yurei’s secret, and his alone. It required more study - more though. However, for now, Komon’s recovery was the more important of the two.

And so Yurei went, footsteps churning in the snow, sinking with every movement as the sun departed from the skies and fell into the earth. The orange glow painted the snow orange and red with purple shadows and pink winds. By the time he had arrived at the camp, the golden sky had turned deathly cold, and the sun’s bright glow was replaced with the many stars creating their own painting in the sky.

WC: 251
TCW: 4641

Wed Apr 20, 2022 7:30 pm

Yurei sat in a meditative pose, focusing on his breathing - and only his breathing. Each breath filtered through his lungs and his mind, the rest a blank landscape. It seemed the only time he could attain some measure of peace. With Komon still unconscious, he had days to consider himself and the events transpiring around it. It was admittedly taxing, but nothing he wasn’t used to. So, in moments like these, or in moments he wrote poetry, Yurei allowed himself to relax. He suppressed that voice screaming behind him, driving him to do and to act until it was all but silent. He’d grown out of such impulses. Now, he was reserved. Quiet. Patient.

He opened his eyes, taking one last breath in the cold air. His knees were bent against the ground, his feet on either side of him. The breeze tugged at his mane of hair, blowing against the ceramic mask he wore on his face. He fluttered his eyes, allowed the breeze to coax them as it passed. And then he stood, the clumped snow falling from his tunic back onto the ground. There was something different about this wind. An energy to it - a charge. Something was coming, though what, he did not know. Perhaps they were the winds of change. Either way, no matter how significant, upon meeting Komon their lives had now changed - at least for the time being. And until the Uchiha were able to assess the situation, Yurei would wake from every quiet meditation pensive and alert - more so than usual.

WC: 259
TCW: 4900

Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:49 pm

Yurei opened the tent’s flap, bright sunlight erupting into the sky. The dreary skies had departed, and, though he still bit from the sharp cold of the air, the sunlight bathed the Uchiha in its warmth. He closed his eyes, allowed it to fill him, brimming through his eyelids in a red haze. For a moment, it had kissed his face in warmth, but the breeze had channeled through the mask’s eyeholes, chilling him more than it would have otherwise. The weather here was nothing if not consistent. Even into the doorway of spring, Snow Country was still bitterly cold. Still, seeing the sun for the first time in days was refreshing.

Yurei turned, looking to the mountains. Damon’s patrol must have been coming to a close. He was usually back soon after sunrise, leaving Yurei, the more curious of the two, to explore when things were more visible. Still, he had not had the time to investigate the nearby settlement. That would have to wait until Komon was no longer ill. Yurei could not risk interactions at the moment. He was more than capable of handling it, but, the longer they were quiet, the more likely patrols were to cease from the prison - if they had not given up already. For all they knew, Yurei could be in Fire Country by now, along with the others. The notion they would remain in snow country, albeit dozens of miles from the prison, was absurd, and, further, Yurei doubted they had the manpower to provide such a search, especially for shinobi capable of pulling such a breakout.

WC: 266
TCW: 5166

Exit
Claims:
Nature Chakra Proficiency 2000/2000
GFA Mastery II - No Handseals 2013/2013 Previous claim here
Vanishing Facial Copy Technique 1153/1500
51 AP - Total: 305

Thu Apr 21, 2022 10:49 pm

Approved