[Marsh Country] Early Riser [Tutor]

[Shieo]

A new day followed for the trio of Kumogakure shinobi; although rag-tag, they found one another and took the time to accommodate one-another. After they settled and inevitably fell asleep, in hopes to see the dawning of a new day and new adventures.
Lead to today, with the chirping of distant birds, and the tumultuous sounds of insects meandering with their near autonomous lives. Stirring awake from his own slumber, Shieo had shuffled wearily out of his 'tent' which formerly expressed was more akin to a sheet over a support more than anything. Never-the-less, he'd spent some time reviving the fire that was prepared at the center of their camp, fetching some of his rations rather than expending much energy on food preparation, and then eventually settled down a few feet away from the fire. Having spent some time watching it in quiet contemplation, a lot had gone on in his life and it wasn't entirely settled mentally, or emotionally.

Sigh

He exerted that of an elderly man's exasperated breath, only to chew away at his food until one of the girls adjusted into his sight. Giving them a moment to gather themselves, he had dipped his head in a nod. "Good morn'." One could judge by the angle that the sun sat in the distance, it had to have been about five or six in the morning. The air was crisp and everything smelled of fresh dew, minus the campfire the man had going.

"So, you're certain you want what you asked of last night as your training?" Shieo had adjusted the way he sat, tucking either leg underneath the other in a crossed-fashion. A small piece of jerked ration pinched between his fingers afore he had lifted it up and chewed on the rough food. Staring with dullen eyes and a tired expression around his jaw. Given the direction of his eyes, he had slowly cast them to the canopy of leaves up above, where the shadow of the Persona cast ominously above to the sky-blue background. It was difficult to discern the size of the beast from where it was, and with the branches of the trees somewhat obscuring ones sight above.

"Well. When you're ready- Let me know, and we can do a little show and tell I s'pose. As long as your mind isn't as feisty as Siu's, you should be plenty fine."

---

[Post 1/5 | 398/1,500 WC]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

At first, she had slept well even if it had been a bit hard to fall asleep with all the excitement. Still, her body needed rest so, in the end, her mind had allowed it to slip into a soft, warm darkness. That was until a persistent bird had landed on the top of their self-made hut. Its little claws scratched against the many twigs and where Shizuka wouldn’t have paid much attention to its presence on a normal day today was worth getting up early. Perhaps this was a sign, aside from the smell of fire, to roll out of bed and get ready.

A quick glance at Siu’s form left her with two possibilities regarding the fire. Either it was Shieo’s doing or someone had set fire to their camp. She somehow doubted it to be the last scenario. For one there were traps around the place, and then there were two Shinobi with her with way more experience than her. One of them would have surely noticed something like this before she did and alarmed the other two if that was necessary.

Letting her sleeping place the way it was as not to disturb Siu’s sleep, she stepped into the cold air. Her breath formed a little cloud every time she exhaled. Shizuka tightened the jacket she wore around her and wrapped the scarf she had around her neck. Then, with quiet steps and sleepy eyes, she set out to get herself a spot next to Shieo’s fire.

“Morning~” the word almost got lost in the cracking of the fire. She yawned, lips staying hidden behind the green scarf that let her eyes come out pretty well.

No breakfast? A part of her wanted to know, but the reignited curiosity kept her lips sealed. She nodded, shifting a bit closer to the fire. It was casting shadows on both of them, but it felt like something else was too. That’s when she looked up. Startled the girl froze, though didn’t jump or scream this time. Among the green leaves, the dark brown branches, and pieces of bruised sky there was something ominous staring down at them. A hesitant smile was thrown toward this ‘part of Shieo’ as Siu had described the day before. Shizuka didn’t really like this part. It was too big, too... inhuman. And while it wasn’t threatening in any sort of way it was still making her somewhat uncomfortable.

“Feisty?” Blinking, she looked back at Shieo. Unsure what he meant by a little show she hoped that the huge creature above them wouldn’t do something aggressive or weird. In either case, she prepared herself mentally, took a deep breath and nodded toward one of the Shinobi of their village.

“I’m ready, Shieo-san.”


**
Words: 458/1,500 | 1/5 | MFT

 

[Shieo]

Waiting a moment in silence after Shizuka had confirmed that she was ready. He simply gave her a nod, afore standing up and slovenly wandered over to the young student. Patting her shoulder, he motioned with the same hand to follow. "In that case; come come. Siu has already experienced this, but we shouldn't wake her if we can help it." And continued walking. He wasn't briskly walking by any stretch; but he did have a certain physical superiority in leg-length to have made some distance on Shizuka unless she gave in some effort to keep up.

During their walk, he had tightened the gloves on his hands; fixed some of how his clothes sat on his body- Otherwise, he looked a bit like he was getting ready for a scrap. Strangely enough; and every so often he would check back to confirm whether Shizuka had been following or not. Their destination was just outside the thicket of woods, where there was light rolling hills and plenty of open space. By the time they arrived the sun had rose a little bit more, the yellow-green grass brushed against the gentle winds and the air was sharp, but refreshing.

Out a few hundred feet into the fields. He turned to face Shizuka, resting either hand on his hips to let her catch up and ready herself however she intended; not that there was much for her to go off of. "Hmhm. Alright; so the initial preparations take a few minutes. So stand still; close your eyes and focus on where I press my finger." Perhaps being too blunt, or the droll tone in his voice left a lot to be desired- and a lot in the air of question. But no less, he stepped forwards and closed their distance. Taking a moment, he weaved a few unorthodox hand-seals that didn't follow any particular norm. And then lifted his right thumb pressing it gently against her forehead. At first, nothing seemed to happen- but if she had tried to move or speak Shieo would usher to to silence or to stay still.

About a minute in she felt a gargantuan shadow loom closer and closer, until an audible 'womp' was heard about fifty feet away. And with it an unfamiliar voice spoke in harsh tones that almost hurt to listen to. "Another we're testing on hm, Shieo? Very well, my presence is here if we need it." Standing there was the dragon Bahamut, with steel grey scales and rage filled red eyes that bore into the skulls of those it looked at. Well within; sight left one to wager it stood about eighty-feet tall, and spanned for any number of hundreds of feet long.

Shieo gently rested his free hand on her shoulder. "There is no need to fear my persona. For now, focus on a sensation that you will be getting shortly." One could safely assume that Shieo's contact was controlling something within' Shizuka, but it wasn't until a minute and thirty seconds in that she had started to feel a strange alien presence in the bottom of her gut. It sparkled and fizzled like one would imagine a carbonated drink from within' and eventually started to almost boil- not unpleasantly, but it was shaking vigorously from within' as if her spirit had been stirred and separated by the man. "Alright! Brace yourself!" Shieo had called out, removing his hand from her shoulder and pressed it against her forehead as well; and in one fell motion thrusted his off-hand forwards, and pulled the thumb back. As an eruption of blue-green energy expelled in a blistering light from her forehead. "Persona! Face Yourself!"

As he called out that energy warped, twisted and slithered towards the ground about five feet from Shizuka. And welled in the blinding light until it slowly too formation-- Shieo himself had leaped back, and landed a few feet from his own persona. Seemingly intrigued- and focused on the new presence.

"A few face, a new presence- Will it be friend or foe to our young student I wonder?"

"We will see- If it's anything like you were, she may have a scrap on her hands. But no less, I suspect it will help her understand what she feels within' and grow a better understanding of what your kind are."

The question remained. What became of her Persona? And was it a friend? Or a foe that clashed with what she thought she knew and felt?

---

[Post 2/5 | 1,145/1,500 WC]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Due to some reason she had been convinced that they would stay next to the cozy bonfire. She had been wrong. A moment later the duo was making their way out of their camp and into the open fields. Leaving Siu behind just like that didn’t feel right, but she knew they would be back so a note wasn’t too necessary. Besides, if she wanted to keep up with Shieo she had to hurry. There was no time to find anything to write on let alone write a message. Yes, they would return before the older girl would wake up. The last thing she wanted was to worry her. Not that she would, probably. They could have gone hunting, in fact, that wouldn’t have been very surprising.

Quickening her step to keep up when Shieo turned to see where she was, Shizuka wondered what they would do out there in the fields. Hopefully, the ‘monster’ as she had labeled the creature that’s been lurking at them from between the trees’ tops wouldn’t be too close to her. She could only imagine what it could do being the immense size that it was. If Shieo thought to teach her about it by having her being crushed by the thing.. well, Siu was alive and she had been through whatever ordeal Shizuka had gotten herself into with her curiosity.. so that should ease her mind, right? It didn’t, not really.

That’s why the flow of questions almost broke through when Shieo told her to close her eyes. In the end, after a curious hum and his reaction which indicated that he wanted her to be quiet, she followed his instructions with arms hanging by her side. Unsure where the finger would land she almost flinched when he touched her forehead. It reminded her of the way Siu had poked her the day before. The spot was probably the same now that she thought about it. Before her thoughts wandered off too far while exploring whether Siu had picked her forehead because Shieo had done the same thing to her a creepy voice broke through her relaxed state.

Of course her eyes shot open while every muscle in her body tensed. There, a short distance from them, the dragon stood. Its voice a mixture of thunder cracks and tones too harsh for human ears. She almost took a step back but the hand on her shoulder reassured her that Bahamut, as this huge beast was called, wouldn’t hurt her.

“What?” She blinked in confusion. Slowly but surely she felt herself getting sick. Something stirred in her stomach. An unpleasant sensation of something living curling and twisting inside of her caused fear to spike up but she crushed it with the idea of Shieo being near. Then, very quickly, the feeling rose, slipped through her guts all the way to her head and burst from her skull in the form of light. Shielding her eyes from it she instinctively leaped backward. Her senses were so baffled she almost missed what the creature and Shieo were saying. Through her fingers she carefully studied the mass of light that slowly started to seep into the ground. Spreading like a cobweb it zigzagged beneath her feet, passed into the hill behind her and disappeared.

It was quiet. Her heavy breathing rushed over the field as she stared at the hill behind her. Just as she was about to turn to ask Shieo what in the world had happened everything started to shake. Earth split forming a maw where the hill was. Its upper side climbed into the sky while roots and grass formed an armor of sorts around the body that was growing so quickly from the ground. Massive wooden logs formed something akin to muscles and ribs. Horns, she thought to recognize in the shape of the wood on top of the ‘head’. The mountain grew. Rocks fell to the ground while trees sprouted from its back. Its arms reached out and placed themselves in the open field around them. Fingers like ancient tree roots buried themselves into the grass while the ‘face’ moved closer to the humans present. Its focus seemed to be on Shizuka, but with no real eyes it was hard to tell.

Vines moved to create a gap similar to a mouth. There was a form of a nose in there as well. With some imagination, one could find a pair of eyes in the curling vines that hadn’t been there before. The words came sounding like rushing water.

“This doesn’t look like the moment you would need me.”

The connection was there, but all Shizuka could do at the moment was stare in the eyes of a mountain.

**
[1,245/1,500 | 2/5]

 

[Shieo]

Where Bahamut and Shieo stood had the young-man resting his hands on his hips. Witnessing the amalgamation of living earth slowly piece itself together with it's etherealistic forces of energy; the dour-eyes of the man were observation, and intrigued. One could almost tell that each of these sessions that he hosted and housed the chakra burden of wielding someone elses' Persona was that of a learning lesson for him- as much as it is for the individual he aided.

"Well, that one is certainly grandeur." The formerly monolithic draconic figure was minute in comparison to the golem that yielded to the mental alacrity of Shizuka. It's tone was that of sarcasm, but not spite- Perhaps a personality trait that the two shared between themselves. "Indeed, I wonder how long I'll be able to hold it together with my chakra reserves- I am interested to see how it interacts; after-all between you and Siu, we haven't had any that came out friendly at first." Shieo exhausted something akin to a sigh, but strolled towards Shizuka; making certain he wouldn't startle her.

"So." Granting himself a moments pause, as he tapped his chin with his left finger; the clanking of his scaled armor making his presence evermore known. "It appears your Persona is something akin to a rather large-- Hill, thing." His humor hadn't left the building at least, and his tone suggested he meant no harm by the comment, but a challenging remark. "I wouldn't fear that it's form has caused any catastrophic damage to the biomes here. Personas are semi-physical manifestations, I'll wager it took form off the landscape because it was what was near; but once it recedes back into the crevices of your mind, the land itself should return to a semi-familiar state." Having cast a furtive glance to the young girl. He would then tap her back gently twice- and then gently push her towards the being. "Well, this is an opportunity to learn about yourself. For good or for worse- I'll be here if it is in-fact malevolent, and decides to start tearing the place up-- After-all, I'm it's lifeline, other than that. I will help where I can, but that doesn't change that... Whatever that thing is, is the form that takes your mind. Curious- Ever so curious." Given the push and his little comment, he turned on his heel and wandered towards Bahamut, which wasn't too far away from her position. "Good luck! I'll be right here."

---

[Post 3/5 | 1,558/1,500 WC]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

The immense creature above her froze as if it was waiting for some sort of answer. In fact, Shizuka was pretty sure that it was. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what to say. That’s why Shieo’s presence was a nice change in her surroundings. His reassurance in the form of guiding words helped her to come alive, to breathe, and when she hesitantly looked at him and after that slowly turned toward the dragon, it had her wonder if there was this gentle type of gravity between them just like there was between her and the ‘hill’.

“Whaa-” she started to object when he ushered her to move toward the creature. Under his pressure her leg bent a bit and she took a step, then another. Now that she was moving closer it only felt natural, comfortable. The invisible strings resembling warmth, sturdiness and inspiration curled around her like roots. An embrace of sorts, she thought while losing the previously felt bafflement and all traces of anything resembling fear.

Finding it awkward to scream her question into the air above -for all she knew this creature’s ears weren’t even near its eyes- Shizuka found herself forming the necessary seals to float up toward the Persona’s face. It took her a moment, and she tried not to channel too much chakra into the jutsu, before she floated up with gravity slowly losing its grip on her body. Carefully directing herself onto a thick branch that was a piece of the Persona’s jaw, she landed there, holding onto the thick wood with her left hand.

The wood felt warm under her touch. Vitality and safety were the words that came to mind when she traced her fingers over the bark. Soon her green eyes found the roots that had formed the other parts of the face - the moving ones. She was being watched, the same way as she was watching the Persona.

Carefully testing the air between them she found no tension. This one was only patiently waiting for her to say something, or perhaps to do something. It’s why she took her chance to ask. “When do I need you then, if not now?”

“When your patience and strength are being tested.” The voice formed from a rushing river replied without any delay. It wasn’t loud by any means but somehow echoed across the area. Maybe the words were carried forth by some invisible stream, Shizuka thought with her hand still on the wood for stability.

“How will I reach you next time?” Of course, she wanted to know that. If something this huge could help her out during a fight then she would always feel safe - probably. But that’s not how it appeared to be working because the next words confused her a bit.

“By reaching inside of yourself.”, wasn’t the answer she had expected. What she had expected even less was for the wood to start cracking, the ground shaking, and everything slowly sinking into the field.

Jumping before the logs she had been standing on would collide with the ground beneath she landed into the long grass with a soft ‘umpf’. Before her, the mountain was shifting into something smaller, way smaller. The hill returned to its (mostly) original state but thick roots curled from its base. It looked as if they would never stop but they did just a couple of feet away from her. Then from the middle of the hill, a trunk sprouted. It looked a lot like one of the trees on the hill’s back before, but it was more massive (yet way smaller than the hill had been). A huge tree with the same face and flowing voice.

“I can be the path you walk on, I could be a mountain to shelter you from the storm, they might try to cut me down but I will grow elsewhere. Our kind has the vitality to endure.”

Shizuka blinked. Was this a Senju thing?

**
[1,906/1,500 | 3/5]

 

[Shieo]

Where Shieo found himself just beside Bahamut was an ideal place to finally get a chance to sit down. As he did, crossing either leg he turned his attention to the gargantuan being that towered over the area- and the young girl that it came from. It wasn't completely unbelievable that something of such proportions couldn't come from a being like her- after-all, he knew that part of this training was both for the student to develop themselves; but a willing means for him to observe and study the actions and manifestations of Persona- and their reasoning.

"Enjoying the test-subject?" Spoke in a voice that only Shieo could hear simply from the distances from Shizuka. In-turn, Shieo presented something of a nuisanced glance to the scaled-ally; "Your mocking aside; it's valuable information-- Despite the matter that it's rather draining on one's chakra reserves..." It was then, when Shieo wiped the sweat that started to slide down the side of his face. With his attention being reaffirmed towards the unnamed Persona in the distance. It's words resounded a certain mindset that while Shieo figured he may have picked up on, it wasn't his place to wield or instruct on mere hypothesis.
Moments later the large Persona had taken its time to slowly devolve into something of a smaller state- perhaps in efforts to help reflect the change of perspective to Shizuka. It's difficult to discern from the observational eye; yet Shieo couldn't help but feel that the more it lasted and the more it changed the more exhausted he was finding himself feel. "Hng-- Alright Bahamut, time to camp in again." With a strained groan, the young-man pushed himself to a standing position with the support of his knee. "Of course. Be on your guard no less, that thing might have attracted some attention." In a wisp of black and red energy, the dragon warped and slithered into essence and into Shieo's chest.

Leading himself forwards, Shieo came close to where Shizuka had found herself landing. And listening to the what seemed to be; final words the tree-thing was eager to part with in terms of wisdom.
Divining a sniff to break the silence. Shieo withered a droll toned voice. "Quite the astute personality. Ain't it." He wheezed a cough, standing next to her now. Carefully placing a hand on her left shoulder- It seemed whenever he did this, there was an ulterior motive. "However, my chakra is taking a beating... So this might feel a bit uncomfortable." With a indicating cough, the tree that towered like a monolith of resolute strength afore them slowly begun to flicker into greens and blues of chakra; sparkling motes of energy started to flutter off the tree and break way into an ethereal form in the air. This continued for about ten seconds before the entire tree burst in a wave of gusted air; and with it the entire tree shimmered into the glowing energy-- Up until it started to amalgamate into a central funnel of energy and launched at a mach-speed into Shizuka's forehead. It didn't hurt necessarily; but if one could experience vertigo at an incredible degree for a short period of time- She did.
In preparation for her to fall over he had his arm at the ready to catch her. But at the same time, he felt the strain of chakra knocking at his door; "P-Phew. . That was something mh--"

After she gathered her bearings- assuming she did. Shieo would let her resume having space. Walking over to a small boulder, sitting down atop it and observing the young Senju a silent moment. "Hm.. Do you perhaps have any questions? I must admit, your Persona was a bit... Ambiguous compared to the few others I've seen and encountered."

---

[Post 4/5 | 2,186/1,500 WC]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Still staring at the tree she didn’t turn around when Shieo broke the silence. Slightly humming in agreement of whatever his next actions would be, she braced herself. The spinning was bad. Her stomach twisted in pure horror and for a moment she was convinced that soon her face or back would hit the ground. But Shieo knew this would happen because he caught her. A couple of awkward seconds later she was standing firmly on her feet with only a trace of the lightness left in her head.

“That was.. that was..” she muttered, trying to calm down her stomach and mind. Processing everything would take a lot more time than getting over vertigo. Shieo appeared to be aware of that as he was making himself comfortable not too far away. Of course, she followed him there with a pair of shaky legs.

When she sat down she took a second to really settle. The nauseousness from before had turned into a soft buzzing in her guts. She kept herself connected with the ground by actively combing through the blades of grass. Then put away a lost strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.

“Questions.. well hmm that was weird. And soothing. To be honest, I’m not sure how to feel about it.” Shizuka admitted with a slight frown on her face. The expression soon shifted into one of wonder. Perhaps she could start with the question that had come to mind at the very start.

“Do you feel a certain gravity between you and Bahamut? There was this hmm pleasant but persistent tugging.. as if ropes brought me closer. Not that it was threatening, it was just so” she looked for the right word, aimlessly waving with her hands a little as she tried to find it. “natural, I guess.”

“It fit. Like a puzzle. But I’m not entirely sure what it was talking about. And how am I supposed to find it by looking inside? I haven’t encountered it ever before.”


**
[2,241/1,500 | 4/5]

 

[Shieo]

At the beginning, Shieo merely sat in silent pause. Listening to each word that Shizuka felt she needed to express with a certain level of intrigue and confusion. It was a bit expected, but at the same time- it was something he preferred; this way each person he had a discussion with in relation to the beings were speaking on a level that they understood emotionally and mentally. Without the fundamental understanding that he had, after-all he could never learn from them if he simply told them what he knew to be true.

"Hm." Adjusting how he sat, the young man scratched his cheek a moment in thought. "A gravity? I never really put much thought into it; perhaps a difference in how we both realized our Persona.. But I would be lying to say we didn't share something although, I suspect his and my bond differ than your own. It is in-part due to how a Persona comes to exist." He once more paused, giving himself a natural segway in conversation. "I believe it was what Siu was trying to convey to you when you first asked. You see, a Persona is in-fact born and developed through the cognitive understanding of oneself and their deeply seeded personalities. A Persona reflects the inner-most definition of one's character, in other words. So where Siu's, mine and yours all exist and come from the same place; they come from different states of reason and being. It's a bit of a nuisance to think about, I'm sure. Nevertheless, they all exist on the same plane of understanding; but all exist and come to exist for different reasons; and thus are intrinsically different." He himself, paused and thought on what he said; hoping that it made some sense in the long-term. Only to let out a resigned sigh, "So where yours is massive and full of unrefined understanding, could eventually sharpen and embolden your self-perspective as you grow. Mine is already inherently clear, so perhaps that is why we're on different wave-lengths. All things considered; your's seems a lot more sincere than mine-own. Heh-- As for the puzzle, I suspect that is up to you to discover. And if you choose to discover; I find that those like myself, once they learn the truth of Personas, tend to seize the control of them. It's a sinister tool, and otherwise are a path that some are better suited to avoid... I'll let you decide how far you wish to tread down that path."

He gave off a strained groan, as he used his knee to prop himself to a standing position. And looked onward to the thicket of trees where their camp still lie. "However, that I think is enough to think on; we should begin preparations to continue moving- Whether that entails you following me, or not. What I do know, is your Persona was perceived by the naked eye. Meaning anything within' even a general mountain-length distance could see it. Meaning we're to expect company if we linger more than a day." Giving the young-kunoichi a furtive glance he started to walk towards the thicket. "Of course, if you're so inclined, the company would be of hostile intent. You could use it as practice- Although you could die." It was clear in his simple tone and mannerisms, he was joking. And he started to depart back to the camp.

---

[Post 5/5 | 2,752/1,500 WC]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Yes, she nodded, gravity. Having plucked a few grass blades she was leaning back now and eyeing her instructor of sorts. Unsure if the description of gravity was the most fitting one, he luckily appeared to be understanding what she had been trying to say. There was a binding force between Persona’s and their ‘creators’ if one could call them that. At the moment she still found most of this quite confusing and very abstract. The fact that she had seen her own Persona was helping, of course, but it didn’t magically allow her to see through all of the fog still lingering around the situation.

“So .. they are bits of our minds? And are different because we don’t think the same way?”

That was a scary thought. Unsure why her mind would be bulky she at least didn’t have to worry about it looking as frightening as Shieo’s did. Her creature had been huge but peaceful. She could still feel the connection, or at least was able to imagine enough to recall the feeling she’s had. Soothing, strong, but relaxing. Even its voice had been one to easily drag someone into a meditative state. In some way, she was relieved that the Persona hadn’t been hostile or violent. Thinking about it now she realized that she had no idea how she would have dealt with it should that been the case.

Oh, Shieo! Right. He would have probably reversed the process before it got out of hand. Speaking of... “How do you do it?” She wanted to know, jumping up from the ground to follow him back to the camp. “I didn’t understand the seals, they were.. weird and hmm seemed inconsistent?” Or perhaps she simply couldn’t find the link between them because the underlying system wasn’t known to her.

“And.. I don’t think Siu would like that, me getting into a fight, I mean.” Me getting the attention of everyone in a radius of a hundred miles or further on the other hand… Ugh, maybe it was better to just wrap things up and leave without getting into details too much. She laughed to herself, shaking her head a little knowing that doing so wasn’t an option.


**
[2,611/1,500 | 5/5]