It's a poison-hunting trip today, just poison, you're not hurting them, the nice ANBU just want the venom from the scorpion and they can make more of it when they're captured and it's not like the scorpions are killed for their venom or anything, they just want to get the venom, you're not doing anything to hurt the little things and you're not getting close to them either so don't worry about it just carry out the mission and everything will be aaaaall right...
reparation:
Naoki was trekking through the desert once more, cloak over her head and shoulders, ears on the lookout for any signs of life anywhere, arms pulling a cart of crates to stuff the scorpions into. She went through the mission details in her head, as well as a few vital points to know about when on this particular one. Namely, stay away from it and enclose it in something before it gets you. How was she even supposed to find out where those things lived? Could she use sonic skills in this case? Do scorpions live underground? Wait, are they nocturnal? They're not right? The mission person said they scare birds off, and everyone knows birds aren't nocturnal! So they've gotta be out here somewhere. She did read through a few books as much as she could given her eyesight's focus-restricted time frame, but found no substitutes for scorpion bait. Would she just have to disturb the sands until she finds one? Testing the theory out near that one place where she had to bail out on a mission, because she remembers these things she stood in the general area where a man lost his life to the very species she was trying to capture, the feared Shuriken Scorpion. Might be able to find one or two in this area. That's not too tough right?
So she got ready, preparing a Distorted Aura, which was now her go-to Sound jutsu for its high defensive capabilities, to keep up before tightening her bandages, performing a charge, leaping up into the air and pounding the ground with a single powerful WHAM and backstepping, like a midair Step-In Flash. The resulting force was absorbed by the sand, and Naoki furrowed her brow thinking it would shatter like rocks, but more easily since it didn't have to shatter at all. Unfortunately, this meant she would likely have to use even more chakra for a ninjutsu. Taking a deep breath, she formed the handseals for Tempest and attempted to drive it into the sand, whipping up something like a mini-sandstorm and using it to essentially dig into the sand for hidden treasures. What she found however, were not the scorpions she was looking for.
Standing in the hole she dug were at least three Pugilist Scorpions, each approximately 2 feet in length. Understandably- "HIIIIIII!" A high pitched screeching sound was expelled from the young girl, running as quickly as she could from the area back to the village to look for more information on where the smaller (and presumed less) dangerous arachnids might be living. She'd arrived back at that location to retrieve the cart and its crates, still miraculously untaken, and continued on her journey to search for an oasis. She attempted to generate ultrasonic waves in order to find a vein of water, and figured she'd follow its flow to where scorpions, and indeed animals of all sorts, might congregate.
:Capture:
It took her several hours in the sweltering heat, sun now rather high in the sky, before she finally reached what one might call an oasis. The watering hole didn't seem to have dried up just yet, and Naoki refilled her water canteen while staying vigilant, not wanting to disturb the crows refilling their internal canteens. I think... I want to see them. It's not like it'll help with spotting a Shuriken Scorpion though...
Suddenly, they scattered, and she was taken by surprise. She was on the other side of the watering hole, but the flapping and the cawing helped her identify the source of their distress - the very scorpions she was looking for. There were two of them, heading in a beeline for the water like they were the kings of the area. As the crows took flight, Naoki steeled her resolve and carried two of the crates as she ran over to the scorpions, which were hissing quite loudly at her, improving her senses further as she decided how to get the scorpions in the crates in the easiest way possible. She left the crates open, positioning them so that their openings would allow the scorpions to be pushed right into them. As the hissing continued, intensifying and now accompanied by stomach-churning tail-waving. It was far worse for Naoki than it would've been for most, as she could sense each and every disgusting hair on the things as she circled around them and tried not to upchuck her lunch from the shapes.
Let's just get this over wiiiiith! Wind Release would be best used here, and she did position the crates such that a singular source of wind would push them in the right direction to force them into the crates, hisses and all. Once over with, Naoki rushed in, flipped the crates upright and sealed them properly. She would repeat this, waiting in the shadows of some palm trees for another scorpion to show up and capture it. By the time she finished all five captures, the sun was halfway down to setting. She tightened the straps and was getting ready to leave when she heard someone calling out to her, "Stop. That last scorpion you caught was pregnant." The genin spun, having already identified the source of the sound and in an alert state despite her burning desire for a late noon siesta. "I have one to trade it for, but please hand the other over to me." The voice, calloused but kind, came from a tattooed woman with a somber face not too much taller than Naoki was. She brought out a hissing metal box, holding a scorpion inside it by the sound of it, with a hole on top of it before she had a chance to say anything back.
:Stories:
The woman walked past Naoki, removing the last box she strapped onto the cart and replacing it with the metal one. "Do not fret, I'm here for the well-being of the scorpions. As you probably aren't able to tell, this tattoo on my back marks me as a member of the Order of the Scorpion. Are you familiar with that name?" Shaking her head no, forgetting that the woman couldn't see her doing so, she snapped back to her senses and turned towards the woman. "Uh, aren't those things dangerous? The poison's highly toxic and need some really expensive medicine right?"
She nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world and explained. "Yes, and they are the Order's greatest ally, our most precious treasure, because without them..." She opened the metal box, gently shushing the scorpion inside (and for some reason it seemed to work, at least until she closed the box once more) then strapping it in. "We would have no reason to exist." The woman turned to Naoki, giving her a short bow as she took her leave. Having never heard of said Order before, she called out, "W-wait!" Pausing, the woman seemed to hesitate for a moment or two before facing the genin once more. Naoki took this as her cue to start talking. "Um... Could you tell me more? How can something so dangerous and... uncontrollable... be an ally?"
Seeming to draw back slowly in surprise, the woman's expression changed to one of appreciation, and proceeded to regale her with the Order's stories of how men transcended man, the legends that all members strive to become by putting various poisons into their system, raising their resistance to them little by little. It was said that these legends could withstand even a direct shot from several Shuriken Scorpions at once and not need an antidote to recover, and another had even succeeded in creating a now-lost antidote from observing the reaction of the venom to his own blood, which apparently worked far faster and with less pain compared to Revite. Cringing, gasping, sometimes even being awestruck at the stories she was being told, she stayed at the watering hole listening to them for hours, until the sky grew dark. Her thin day cloak wasn't suited for this part of the day, and she began to freeze. Thankfully, it seemed the woman was able to gather this from her figure, and took her leave after telling her that she'd succeeded in capturing Shuriken Scorpions on all five counts.
"Wh- H-how did you-!" Before she could say much more, the woman held up her hand and gave Naoki a deeper bow than the previous one, causing her to stop, bow at about the same angle and be on her way. There was nothing more to be said.
[MFT]
[WC: ±1500]
reparation:Naoki was trekking through the desert once more, cloak over her head and shoulders, ears on the lookout for any signs of life anywhere, arms pulling a cart of crates to stuff the scorpions into. She went through the mission details in her head, as well as a few vital points to know about when on this particular one. Namely, stay away from it and enclose it in something before it gets you. How was she even supposed to find out where those things lived? Could she use sonic skills in this case? Do scorpions live underground? Wait, are they nocturnal? They're not right? The mission person said they scare birds off, and everyone knows birds aren't nocturnal! So they've gotta be out here somewhere. She did read through a few books as much as she could given her eyesight's focus-restricted time frame, but found no substitutes for scorpion bait. Would she just have to disturb the sands until she finds one? Testing the theory out near that one place where she had to bail out on a mission, because she remembers these things she stood in the general area where a man lost his life to the very species she was trying to capture, the feared Shuriken Scorpion. Might be able to find one or two in this area. That's not too tough right?
So she got ready, preparing a Distorted Aura, which was now her go-to Sound jutsu for its high defensive capabilities, to keep up before tightening her bandages, performing a charge, leaping up into the air and pounding the ground with a single powerful WHAM and backstepping, like a midair Step-In Flash. The resulting force was absorbed by the sand, and Naoki furrowed her brow thinking it would shatter like rocks, but more easily since it didn't have to shatter at all. Unfortunately, this meant she would likely have to use even more chakra for a ninjutsu. Taking a deep breath, she formed the handseals for Tempest and attempted to drive it into the sand, whipping up something like a mini-sandstorm and using it to essentially dig into the sand for hidden treasures. What she found however, were not the scorpions she was looking for.
Standing in the hole she dug were at least three Pugilist Scorpions, each approximately 2 feet in length. Understandably- "HIIIIIII!" A high pitched screeching sound was expelled from the young girl, running as quickly as she could from the area back to the village to look for more information on where the smaller (and presumed less) dangerous arachnids might be living. She'd arrived back at that location to retrieve the cart and its crates, still miraculously untaken, and continued on her journey to search for an oasis. She attempted to generate ultrasonic waves in order to find a vein of water, and figured she'd follow its flow to where scorpions, and indeed animals of all sorts, might congregate.
:Capture:
It took her several hours in the sweltering heat, sun now rather high in the sky, before she finally reached what one might call an oasis. The watering hole didn't seem to have dried up just yet, and Naoki refilled her water canteen while staying vigilant, not wanting to disturb the crows refilling their internal canteens. I think... I want to see them. It's not like it'll help with spotting a Shuriken Scorpion though...
Suddenly, they scattered, and she was taken by surprise. She was on the other side of the watering hole, but the flapping and the cawing helped her identify the source of their distress - the very scorpions she was looking for. There were two of them, heading in a beeline for the water like they were the kings of the area. As the crows took flight, Naoki steeled her resolve and carried two of the crates as she ran over to the scorpions, which were hissing quite loudly at her, improving her senses further as she decided how to get the scorpions in the crates in the easiest way possible. She left the crates open, positioning them so that their openings would allow the scorpions to be pushed right into them. As the hissing continued, intensifying and now accompanied by stomach-churning tail-waving. It was far worse for Naoki than it would've been for most, as she could sense each and every disgusting hair on the things as she circled around them and tried not to upchuck her lunch from the shapes.
Let's just get this over wiiiiith! Wind Release would be best used here, and she did position the crates such that a singular source of wind would push them in the right direction to force them into the crates, hisses and all. Once over with, Naoki rushed in, flipped the crates upright and sealed them properly. She would repeat this, waiting in the shadows of some palm trees for another scorpion to show up and capture it. By the time she finished all five captures, the sun was halfway down to setting. She tightened the straps and was getting ready to leave when she heard someone calling out to her, "Stop. That last scorpion you caught was pregnant." The genin spun, having already identified the source of the sound and in an alert state despite her burning desire for a late noon siesta. "I have one to trade it for, but please hand the other over to me." The voice, calloused but kind, came from a tattooed woman with a somber face not too much taller than Naoki was. She brought out a hissing metal box, holding a scorpion inside it by the sound of it, with a hole on top of it before she had a chance to say anything back.
:Stories:
The woman walked past Naoki, removing the last box she strapped onto the cart and replacing it with the metal one. "Do not fret, I'm here for the well-being of the scorpions. As you probably aren't able to tell, this tattoo on my back marks me as a member of the Order of the Scorpion. Are you familiar with that name?" Shaking her head no, forgetting that the woman couldn't see her doing so, she snapped back to her senses and turned towards the woman. "Uh, aren't those things dangerous? The poison's highly toxic and need some really expensive medicine right?"
She nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world and explained. "Yes, and they are the Order's greatest ally, our most precious treasure, because without them..." She opened the metal box, gently shushing the scorpion inside (and for some reason it seemed to work, at least until she closed the box once more) then strapping it in. "We would have no reason to exist." The woman turned to Naoki, giving her a short bow as she took her leave. Having never heard of said Order before, she called out, "W-wait!" Pausing, the woman seemed to hesitate for a moment or two before facing the genin once more. Naoki took this as her cue to start talking. "Um... Could you tell me more? How can something so dangerous and... uncontrollable... be an ally?"
Seeming to draw back slowly in surprise, the woman's expression changed to one of appreciation, and proceeded to regale her with the Order's stories of how men transcended man, the legends that all members strive to become by putting various poisons into their system, raising their resistance to them little by little. It was said that these legends could withstand even a direct shot from several Shuriken Scorpions at once and not need an antidote to recover, and another had even succeeded in creating a now-lost antidote from observing the reaction of the venom to his own blood, which apparently worked far faster and with less pain compared to Revite. Cringing, gasping, sometimes even being awestruck at the stories she was being told, she stayed at the watering hole listening to them for hours, until the sky grew dark. Her thin day cloak wasn't suited for this part of the day, and she began to freeze. Thankfully, it seemed the woman was able to gather this from her figure, and took her leave after telling her that she'd succeeded in capturing Shuriken Scorpions on all five counts.
"Wh- H-how did you-!" Before she could say much more, the woman held up her hand and gave Naoki a deeper bow than the previous one, causing her to stop, bow at about the same angle and be on her way. There was nothing more to be said.
[MFT]
[WC: ±1500]