[mingle post!]

[cavedwellers]

Boy Valentine's Day was sure an adventure, wasn't it? Gosh, it's a good thing all that's over with.

Have a mingle post! If you're starting a new thread, mention where you are in the subject line. Tag each other, hang out, do whatevs.

Comments

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[lifestudies]

[comes out onto the overlook and perches on a different rock, settling sketchpad in his lap and taking out charcoal pencils to start drawing]

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[prankster_gambit]

[You make your way towards the overlook and peer over it. Whoa. It's kind of high. You've got nothing to worry about but gosh, there should be like a fence or something built for people who can't fly!

You glance over at the teenager.]

"Hi! What are you drawing?"

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[lifestudies]

[studying the boy in blue. he doesn't act like a threat, but appearances can be deceiving.]

I'm sketching the landscape. It's supposed to be a good meditative practice.

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[prankster_gambit]

[He talked back so you take that as an invitation to sit beside him.]

Wow, meditation? Are you like a ninja or something?

[he sure looks like one but appearances can be deceiving! You look like you're perpetually ready for bed, after all!]

[lifestudies]

[blinks]

I am, yes. [peering at more closely, investigating the sign on yr shirt] Are you? I don't recognize the symbol you're wearing.

[prankster_gambit]

[YOU HAVE JUST BEEN MISTAKEN AS A NINJA BY A NINJA HOLY CRAP YOU WISH YOU COULD TELL DAVE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW]

Haha, no! I'm the Heir of Breath and this is the symbol for that. Uhm. It's really pretty complicated!

[lifestudies]

Hmm, I see.

[not really a specialist in sensing chakra, but definitely able to tell something is up here.]

It's not just an honorary title, is it? You have some kind of powers.

[prankster_gambit]

Well, yeah!

[you float of a few inches in the air, before bringing your legs up so you're sitting cross legged.]

And I could call the breeze buuuut that's pretty destructive so I guess I probably shouldn't. It's really cool though!

[lifestudies]

[making notes for mental dossier]

So it is "breath" in the sense of "wind," rather than the sense of "life."

How destructive, would you say?

[prankster_gambit]

Uh, well, I once put out a fire that was covering most of my planet on the medium! But I don't think that planet is actually planet sized; I think it's probably a lot of smaller!

[You shrug and settled back down beside him, swinging your legs over the edge of the overlook.]

I haven't really practice a whole lot with it though. I guess it could be smaller than that it's just whenever I need it, suddenly BOOM! You know?

[lifestudies]

So it's a talent you've awakened but haven't really trained to use to its full potential.

Still, a wind-natured power that can defeat fire...where I come from, people would be very interested to see whether that can be taught.

[prankster_gambit]

Really?

[You feel so cool right now. Grinning like a huge dope, you shrug.]

Well, I don't know if I can teach anyone! I kind of had to die to learn it.

[lifestudies]

[. . .]

You don't seem like the kind of person who would say that metaphorically.

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[ice_and_steel]

[oh. Well. this. how does one address this. things not covered in the Imperial Military Handbook sections 1545 to fucking 1547. She didn't actually mean that to sound as literal as it did.]

Good afternoon. [would it be rude to peek at the sketchbook? She's very curious but it is probably rude. Relm never liked her peeking until it was done.] How are you?

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[lifestudies]

Ah, hello. I am well.

[looking up from the notebook, smiling]

How are you?

Re: [on the fussin' overlook]

[ice_and_steel]

[if he's smiling he can't be too mad, right? She smiles back.]

I'm well, thank you. May I ask what you're drawing?

[lifestudies]

[smiles all around! clearly this is a successful conversation.]

I came out here to sketch the landscape. The view here is remarkable.

[ice_and_steel]

It is. I've never learnt how to draw. Is it difficult?

[okay yes we will go with technical questions. hopefully Sai, unlike Relm, will not throw his charcoal sticks in her face.]

[lifestudies]

It takes practice, but it's good observational discipline. My superiors encouraged it as a means of learning to note details in the surrounding area.

[ice_and_steel]

I can see how that would work. You have to notice things to draw them, right?

[looking with fascination at shapes and shadows] Such things were considered unnecessary indulgence, for me, as long as I could read maps.

[lifestudies]

Maps are also important, but they will only give you strategy ahead of time. When you are in the middle of a mission you need to be alert to your immediate surroundings and conditions.

But then, you were a general, not a footsoldier, weren't you?

[ice_and_steel]

Yes. I have some experience in fighting on the ground, but my superior preferred not to let his precious experiment be in too risky of a position.

....That, and the last time I was low enough rank to act as a footsoldier, I was twelve. However, my teacher always said that it was important to know what you were asking your troops to do. He also delivered the news of any fallen soldiers to their families personally, and impressed upon me that it was necessary to do the same. He said it would keep me from sacrificing troops unnecessarily when another way existed.

[lifestudies]

Your forces must be organized very differently from ours. In Konoha, the more skilled a shinobi becomes, the more likely he is to be directly involved in the most dangerous missions.

[ice_and_steel]

Your missions are generally performed by a small team, though, are they not? If I am not mistaken, your skills are somewhat akin to our special forces operatives. I commanded armies of hundreds or thousands. Even a very skilled combatant can be overwhelmed if twenty or thirty lesser soldiers surround her.

[lifestudies]

That is usually the case, yes. There are large-scale wars from time to time, but those are much more rare than small targeted missions. It is advantageous for all of the five major nations to maintain at least the illusion of peace rather than committing themselves to outright war.