[Infernal Prisoner] The Wind in Fists

[Santaru Rin]

Team Leader: Risu-Taichou

Details: A white thunderbird has been spotted alone over the lowlands of Lightning Country. The ANBU Sennin has requested a few pinions.

Members: Onryou Oinin

The fields in the lowland had been swathed some time before; the straw had matured, and the peasants were now harvesting the millet. From the squad's vantage in the mountains, the countryside had been gilded in blazing gold wherever the sunlight lent its brilliant strokes. These were the last gasps of autumn; the trees were shedding their final coats of orange and red, and the pines stood ready for winter. The cold meant that the trip had been blessedly free of insects like chiggers and no-see-um's.

The prosaic scene was only marred by the grey smoke marring the southwest and northeast, where the bulk of battles, rioting, and insurrection yet continued. From this great distance, little was clear other than man had once again made of civilization an inescapable hell. Risu's Onryou Oinin avoided the great peak and the throngs of pilgrims and refugees who had inundated the great temple during these troubled times. Their target was a much smaller shrine further west in the mountains, near a shallow pass carved out by a glacier thousands of years or more ago.

Supposedly a thunderbird quite unlike any other had been spotted several times here by independent witnesses. For some reason, the ANBU Sennin had decided that a research expedition was necessary. When the Sennin said "research," she usually meant "hunting," and so her appointed Oinin Butai taichou was out in the hills with several fresh-faced trainees...

Go ahead and post some cute team hijinks while you travel, or discuss your hunting plans, whatever you'd like.

 

[Risu]

“And now that you've gotten a refresher on tracking skills... we've reached our destination. Lovely place, this shrine. Not that it has a name that anyone remembers anymore. We just call it Glacier Pass Shrine, or, Mountain Pass Shrine, or some other random thing. I mean, I'm sure it has an official name we use for it, or we just point to it on the map. But historically? Eh. Lost,” she shrugged. “Take five, then we're going to start this hunt for real.” It had taken almost six hours just to make it to the shrine at double time, and Risu didn't want to waste the rest of the day. Stamina shouldn't be an issue, and if none of the trainees could keep up with this... well, they better hurry up and wash out. They wouldn't make it.

A little alcohol for the gods, a brief prayer for success and she was ready. Nothing like mountain air to refresh the body. Or deprive it of oxygen. Same thing really. “Okay, so we're going to form a loose net and sweep this area for signs. We're looking for a white thunderbird. Pretty majestic, pretty rare. You all should know what they look like, information on thunderbirds was in the mission docs you received. This one is white, and supposedly quite large, but otherwise we're looking for all the normal signs. As I explained earlier, feathers, prey animal bones, tracks, and so forth.” A pause while she spread a map out in front of them. “You three are going to spread out in a very loose line and advance forward. Move fairly quickly, but pay attention to everything. Don't zone out and forget to check details. We'll go sector by sector, as the map shows.”

“Questions? If not, we're moving out now.”

 

[Santaru Rin]

The team could hardly have expected better weather to hunt in. After Risu finished explaining the plan, a light snow flurry began, melting on contact with the steaming earth. Thanks to the clear air, they could see for kilometers--goats on the mountainside, distant travelers, birds wheeling above.

A faint raptor shriek echoed from the east, playing deceptively against the mountains as the team started its search...

 

[Risu]

A fading shriek cascaded across the vastness of the open sky drawing Risu's attention. Such sounds were not rare up in these parts but as far as arbitrary reasons went... well, it would serve the perfect catalyst for the direction the woman chose to chase. The three others could handle the more routine sweeping of sectors, but if experience had taught her anything then one of its prime lessons was that resorting to the plan was to be bored. Effectiveness also tended to fade when the plan went to hell. Not that it seemed such drastic measures would take place for the group considering the objective but well.... might as well interject with her own chaos first. That being said, it was on a pretty minor scale. No plan, just searching on instinct and relying on the gut. So towards the screech she had went. A minor concern that leaving her charges would be a bad idea was brushed off with the reassurance that comms gear actually existed. Of course, if that didn't work, then they would have to fend for themselves. Good for character building and maturity, right?

And so Risu found herself wandering almost leisurely in an eastward direction. Wildlife activity was as sparse as it was vibrant, the mountainous ecosystem moving at its own languid pace. A consistent grind that had kept pace for the past thousands of years and would surely continue in spite of anything anyone else had to say. Such things were as much relaxing to the woman as morbid. That the world would move on without care after she died. A mixed feeling indeed.

 

[Santaru Rin]

Gateru Risu wandered east, leaving her trainees to scour their given sectors. Alone, she followed a vague mental trail towards where she felt the noise had likely originated. The thunderbirds typically hunted at twilight, in open areas, but a roost would be in a more sheltered area--perhaps a natural aerie. The mountain had many suitable places due to geological activity... But as she walked along the track of her mind's eye, she found a large pile of leavings--what remained after a predator's meal. The creature had been thoroughly picked over, leaving little but bones too large to swallow and scraps of hide. Some birds of prey were notoriously fickle, plucking their victims before gorging and then enjoying a grooming session after.

Hand-sized tracks indicated that the hunter had, indeed, stopped here. No other bird in these parts left prints that large. She scanned the sky for confirmation, but nothing flew above that she could see.

One had to continue on, then. A small stand of trees near a rock outcropping promised more--here was a triad of finger-like stones supporting a huge, woven nest lined with fluff. Here and there were castings--the regurgitated leavings of meals and downy feathers. The castings were dry and brittle, and nearly scentless. One had to be careful with such things. Many raptors carried highly infectious diseases which permeated their waste. Even rodents avoided such things. A snapped-off, white feather showed that she had found her mark's nest...

 

[Santaru Rin]

[Inactivity end/Failure.]