Ever since the rumored crash of the Winter King reached the cavernous depths of Suna, many an odd thing had been going on. Ninja were being dispatched to handle unusual instances of theft, kidnapping, and creatures alike. Uri himself had recovered the wrecked sleigh of the King himself in the maelstrom, the only person in the village capable of surviving that trip. Now the beasts responsible for the sleigh's travel had been lost to the darkness of the caves, scared and unsure; one in particular anyway. The lead of the team, a horse with bright red eyes that were a genetic abnormality. More than just a pet, it was a dear friend to the Winter King and Uri was charged with searching for the animal in the vast area that composed Sunagakure. Luckily, due to the oddity of its eyes, reports had reached back of the animal heading into the Toraono lands. Seeing as how it only had a few places it would want to be, the Elderwoods was the most reasonable place to start.
Once Uri arrived, the flashing of red amongst the trees as something raced in the shadows, frightened and unsure was a dead giveaway he had been right. Now he just had to get to the beast, calm it down and convince it to return. According to his briefing, Rudorufu was normally a brave soul, guiding his team through the most treacherous of weathers in order to complete their journeys on-time and unharmed. For him to be so skittish meant something was affecting him. Uri creating a handful of clones created from gooey sugar and sent them into the forest. This way they would help slow down the animal long enough for Uri to catch up without having to use any force to restrain. After a few moments of the clones rushing after the creature, there was a moment of convergence when all the clones surrounded the horse and trapped it in a cocoon of sticky white sugar.
Approaching slowly, with hands raised to show he meant no harm, Rudorufu continued to fight to get free, but didn't show any reaction to the chuunin nearing. That was when Uri was caught off-guard.
Let me free, human! I can't stay tied down like this for long!<i></i>
So you're a telepathic beast. Considering how odd the Winter King is, that doesn't surprise me. What's wrong? Why have you fled?<i></i>
Continuing to pull at the snare holding him down, he only buried himself deeper into the sweet substance and with Uri there to maintain its strength, there was no breaking free.
A malevolent shadow spirit has been pursuing me since we entered this cave you call home. It wishes me harm.<i></i>
Uri was put on alert to the new threat, immediately conjuring a barrier of shining light around them. The sugar dissolved away and released the horse. Red eyes stared at Uri, and it nodded.
I've dealt with things similar before and have methods that can help end it. If you're willing to lead it to me, I can rid you of it and you can return to the Winter King.<i></i>
Yes, ninja. I will bring it to you, but if it devours you, I will continue to run so it doesn't discover the Winter King. It wants him, to consume his power.<i></i>
Not even letting Uri reply it ran off into the forest, passing through the barrier with a ripple. Quickly getting to work, he started carving runes into the trees of the elderwoods, dragging his kunai through the bark and into the dirt connecting multiple lines of runes on the spines of trees to a central point on the ground. This would create a net that would dissipate the shadow being once it came into contact with it. It was an effective method for dispelling beings of darkness and shadow, but required a great deal of chakra to fuel it. As he knelt down and pressed his bare hands onto the design he had drawn into the dirt, he became keenly aware of the horse returning at a furious speed, charging right for him. Behind him was a swirling torrent of shadows and smoke, something that Uri hadn't ever seen before. He had to be confident that his trap would work, or else it would fail before the attempt even started.
Rudorufu leaped over the trap and the shadow storm followed, but as it entered into the circle, it slammed into an invisible wall. It began slamming into multiple walls finding that the gaps between the trees were protected by some sort of barrier. Each second gone, it became more violent. Uri's form began to glow as he pushed chakra into the runes and seals. Markers glowed as the energy traveled up the trees and the light got stronger and stronger. The creature pounced onto Uri, shredding the clothes on his back, ethereal claws digging into his body, but he remained steadfast in his purpose. A powerful flash of light burst from the trap, flooding the whole of the forest in pure white light. Once it was clear again, it left Uri collapsed on the ground, blood dripping from his open wounds.
The mutant horse secured the shinobi upon his back and charged off towards the village, knowing that his savior would need medical attention.
[mft]
~|~
Word Count: 888
Once Uri arrived, the flashing of red amongst the trees as something raced in the shadows, frightened and unsure was a dead giveaway he had been right. Now he just had to get to the beast, calm it down and convince it to return. According to his briefing, Rudorufu was normally a brave soul, guiding his team through the most treacherous of weathers in order to complete their journeys on-time and unharmed. For him to be so skittish meant something was affecting him. Uri creating a handful of clones created from gooey sugar and sent them into the forest. This way they would help slow down the animal long enough for Uri to catch up without having to use any force to restrain. After a few moments of the clones rushing after the creature, there was a moment of convergence when all the clones surrounded the horse and trapped it in a cocoon of sticky white sugar.
Approaching slowly, with hands raised to show he meant no harm, Rudorufu continued to fight to get free, but didn't show any reaction to the chuunin nearing. That was when Uri was caught off-guard.
Let me free, human! I can't stay tied down like this for long!<i></i>
So you're a telepathic beast. Considering how odd the Winter King is, that doesn't surprise me. What's wrong? Why have you fled?<i></i>
Continuing to pull at the snare holding him down, he only buried himself deeper into the sweet substance and with Uri there to maintain its strength, there was no breaking free.
A malevolent shadow spirit has been pursuing me since we entered this cave you call home. It wishes me harm.<i></i>
Uri was put on alert to the new threat, immediately conjuring a barrier of shining light around them. The sugar dissolved away and released the horse. Red eyes stared at Uri, and it nodded.
I've dealt with things similar before and have methods that can help end it. If you're willing to lead it to me, I can rid you of it and you can return to the Winter King.<i></i>
Yes, ninja. I will bring it to you, but if it devours you, I will continue to run so it doesn't discover the Winter King. It wants him, to consume his power.<i></i>
Not even letting Uri reply it ran off into the forest, passing through the barrier with a ripple. Quickly getting to work, he started carving runes into the trees of the elderwoods, dragging his kunai through the bark and into the dirt connecting multiple lines of runes on the spines of trees to a central point on the ground. This would create a net that would dissipate the shadow being once it came into contact with it. It was an effective method for dispelling beings of darkness and shadow, but required a great deal of chakra to fuel it. As he knelt down and pressed his bare hands onto the design he had drawn into the dirt, he became keenly aware of the horse returning at a furious speed, charging right for him. Behind him was a swirling torrent of shadows and smoke, something that Uri hadn't ever seen before. He had to be confident that his trap would work, or else it would fail before the attempt even started.
Rudorufu leaped over the trap and the shadow storm followed, but as it entered into the circle, it slammed into an invisible wall. It began slamming into multiple walls finding that the gaps between the trees were protected by some sort of barrier. Each second gone, it became more violent. Uri's form began to glow as he pushed chakra into the runes and seals. Markers glowed as the energy traveled up the trees and the light got stronger and stronger. The creature pounced onto Uri, shredding the clothes on his back, ethereal claws digging into his body, but he remained steadfast in his purpose. A powerful flash of light burst from the trap, flooding the whole of the forest in pure white light. Once it was clear again, it left Uri collapsed on the ground, blood dripping from his open wounds.
The mutant horse secured the shinobi upon his back and charged off towards the village, knowing that his savior would need medical attention.
[mft]
~|~
Word Count: 888