Bon Voyage (Leaving country)

[Kairyuu]

That it could be so cold and not snow was something he felt he could never get used to. Kiri was never this cold, even in the dead of winter. A tropical land with humid summers and hot winters, even the coldest day of the year could have a woman inside fanning herself to keep cool. But up here, even in the summer it was cooler than home by far. The cold did not quite touch him, he could tell it was cold but he merely ignored it. The ability to not be cold in a cold land was something that he had enjoyed these past months, something he would miss in his coming exile.

Five years. Before, he would have simply chuckled at those fools for thinking they could keep him out of a place. He was the master of this world, he was the deity and the deicide that made them bend their knee to his whims. He would have slaughtered them like cattle for daring to lay such an ultimatum at his feet, and he would have felt nothing but glee as this happened. Quite a change was coming over him, for he took the exile as a punishment instead of a challenge. Five years that he would be limited in his time with her. Five years that he would be stuck in this place passing the time in whatever fashion he could.

Hoshikata looks back to Haruka and the young lady following them, a slight frown on his features as he turned once more ahead and climbed the gangplank to the boat that he’d had chartered. It couldn’t take them to Mist as it once could, but it could drop them off on the ice nearby and then they were on their own. Without another glance back to the mountains behind him, the Seer lifts his head proudly and steps onboard the vessel.

(S-rank 30 minutes +1 hour = 1.5 hours to exit country.)

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

She watched the black beasts with gleaming ebony feathers rise higher and higher into the sky. Their send off would mark the last of her letters to her spies until she could find a secure place once more in Water country. She found it very doubtful there would be any refuge beyond the icy season. Survival at its truest form would replace the countless taverns and houses she had spent her time in during many of her traveling missions. She worried not about the frigid cold that await the party. After all, she felt rather at home in the freezing air and no doubt her Haku powers would grow in such a climate. Among some of the items being loaded up onto the ship's deck was the steel cage of her last crow messanger bird. Should something happen on their way, she could send a letter to inform her spies of what happened and to expect a delay. All over Lightning, Haruka had set up stations with her trained crows to be used as delivery routes between her network. Going beyond Kuminari no Kuni ceased her line of communication, so the lone crow she took would be her last one.

Her sandy desert eyes lingered on the rising speck of black in the sky until her eyes burned from the sunlight. She blinked away the spots of light shifting in her gaze until the world became unclouded once more. Four years ago she began her first journey to the land of Water country. Haruka was not the same, but she could not say for sure if the Haruka of years past had a warmer heart than the ice queen that had become a source of leadership in the village. She was not convinced that love had saved her. Nor did she know if she wanted it to. All she knew was that Lightning would change under her ideals. She would deal with it all the right way. She would not be swayed by those near her, no matter the cost of their relationships. Her heart was a solitary iceberg in a vast sea, and if any deemed themselves foolish enough to get close they sure would sink.

She sauntered up the gangplank after Hoshikata. Her stern gaze remaining steady towards him as he gave her an uneasy look. She would not falter with resolve. This mission must be completed to satisfy Cloud. The sooner this ended, the faster she could get back to her people. Even without Hoshikata, she'd carry on. Haruka was not some sniveling woman that required to lean on the powers of a man to accomplish just what she wanted. Events were stirring in the countryside, as her last report told her, and she would return home quickly in order to weed out the chain of events that lead to the miner's job. Haruka came aboard, settling in on the upper deck to watch as the ship drifted lazily from the port and further away from her snowy home.

[S-rank run time: 30 minutes + 1 hour = 1 hour and 30 minutes until country exited]
[MFT]

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

There wasn't much for Shashu to do at the moment, other than keep an eye on her charges, and that left her mind open for worrying. Hearing about how long this exile was supposed to last had thrown her for a loop and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with it.

Five years...damn it, there was nothing about this lasting five years!

Try as she might, she just couldn't see why she wouldn't have been told. She hadn't done anything to anger anyone in particular, so it wasn't that, and Ayumu wasn't the sort to forget such an important detail. Why then?

Perhaps this is some sort of mixup...by the Fayth I hope so...

Shashu maintained her silence as they made their way to and boarded the ship that would carry them to the frozen hell that was Water Country, though she knew she wouldn't be able to forever. Eventually she was going to have to get to know at least something about these two if she was going to be spending all day watching them. Especially if she was going to be watching them all day for five Fayth-cursed years. For now though, she sat very still at the prow of the ship where she could keep an eye on the rest of the crew as they ran about their business.

Perhaps when they arrived at Mist one of them would open up to her. The two of them probably had a lot going on that they needed to deal with, and she certainly wasn't going to strike up a conversation when they were preoccupied with their own problems. Eventually they would talk, but right now Shashu was grateful for the silence.

[Leaving Country. A-rank, 1 Hour + 1 Hour Alert = 2 Hours to Exit]

[MFT: WC-286]​