The wind howled, whipping up spirals of sand and flicking them across the dunes. The ground shifted underfoot with each step, footsteps barely audible compared to the undulating noise of the air. Aside from this, for the most part the desert was lifeless; with her lack of doujutsu or other forms of visual enhancement, Shinomiya Akari was the only living being as far as she could see, having travelled far enough that Sunagakure was now obscured as its namesake dictated. When she departed, the sun had not even begun to set... now, it was deep into the twilight hours, and Shinomiya could even see stars glittering overhead. She'd told her parents that she was going out for a walk, and that they shouldn't stay up for her. For a brief moment, the young Genin wondered how concerned they'd be, if they'd known exactly how far she'd wandered away from the village. Fairly, she suspected.
Of course, it wasn't as if Shinomiya had a death wish; or at least, none that she was aware of, much less any she was consciously surrendering herself to. Her tiny body was laden with a healthy amount of food, water, and other supplies, and she'd taken the liberty of equipping goggles and a mask to protect herself from any sandstorms, though as far as she could tell there was no risk of such. She'd rugged up thoroughly too, wearing many layers to protect against the cold of the desert at night; like this, there was no doubt as to her intention, no chance that she was merely lost on her way home. As for her purpose... Shinomiya had reasoned that, to prepare for future missions, it would be prudent to get more comfortable with navigating the desert, both in a general sense as well as familiarising herself with Sunagakure's surroundings. Not to mention doing so in advance like this meant she could do it at night; not only was that infinitely more pleasant in general for her, but she'd reasoned that it would be safer around this time, suspecting that nocturnal predators would be more reliant on attacking defenseless targets, rather than brute force.
Rather, that had been her original purpose. Here, alone, at night... it was perfect. She was unbelievably comfortable, in every sense of the word. Shinomiya was more than happy being alone - in fact, she found it slightly preferable for the most part - so the total, utter solitude did not disturb her like it may have others. She didn't get many opportunities to see the sky, given her distaste for sunlight, so this was her first time looking at the stars. It was a beautiful sight, and yet, she would be lying if she said it moved her. A wistful sigh slipped past her lips as she continued to trudge through the dunes. At first, this had been a purely pragmatic exercise, yet... now, the shinobi had begun seeking inspiration. A fruitless endeavour, in her eyes, yet one she persisted in all the same. Maybe, just maybe, Shinomiya could find something or other that would help give her life a direction. Something to spark a fire in her heart. So far... nothing.
As such, the Genin's spiritual journey continued. It would of course be utter nonsense to claim that she did not require sleep, and most nights she received a perfectly regular amount. Yet while many would assume the ordinarily lackluster, lethargic girl to have little energy, that was extremely far from the truth. The notion of skipping sleep entirely didn't so much as faze her, if it was just for a single night. More pertinent than that, however, was her one-track mind; she had no incentive to stop right now, so there was absolutely no chance she was going to, even without a real incentive to continue. Given that Shinomiya was entirely immune to feeling boredom, it was perfectly likely that she both could and would, in fact, continue drifting through the desert until sunrise.
Of course, it wasn't as if Shinomiya had a death wish; or at least, none that she was aware of, much less any she was consciously surrendering herself to. Her tiny body was laden with a healthy amount of food, water, and other supplies, and she'd taken the liberty of equipping goggles and a mask to protect herself from any sandstorms, though as far as she could tell there was no risk of such. She'd rugged up thoroughly too, wearing many layers to protect against the cold of the desert at night; like this, there was no doubt as to her intention, no chance that she was merely lost on her way home. As for her purpose... Shinomiya had reasoned that, to prepare for future missions, it would be prudent to get more comfortable with navigating the desert, both in a general sense as well as familiarising herself with Sunagakure's surroundings. Not to mention doing so in advance like this meant she could do it at night; not only was that infinitely more pleasant in general for her, but she'd reasoned that it would be safer around this time, suspecting that nocturnal predators would be more reliant on attacking defenseless targets, rather than brute force.
Rather, that had been her original purpose. Here, alone, at night... it was perfect. She was unbelievably comfortable, in every sense of the word. Shinomiya was more than happy being alone - in fact, she found it slightly preferable for the most part - so the total, utter solitude did not disturb her like it may have others. She didn't get many opportunities to see the sky, given her distaste for sunlight, so this was her first time looking at the stars. It was a beautiful sight, and yet, she would be lying if she said it moved her. A wistful sigh slipped past her lips as she continued to trudge through the dunes. At first, this had been a purely pragmatic exercise, yet... now, the shinobi had begun seeking inspiration. A fruitless endeavour, in her eyes, yet one she persisted in all the same. Maybe, just maybe, Shinomiya could find something or other that would help give her life a direction. Something to spark a fire in her heart. So far... nothing.
As such, the Genin's spiritual journey continued. It would of course be utter nonsense to claim that she did not require sleep, and most nights she received a perfectly regular amount. Yet while many would assume the ordinarily lackluster, lethargic girl to have little energy, that was extremely far from the truth. The notion of skipping sleep entirely didn't so much as faze her, if it was just for a single night. More pertinent than that, however, was her one-track mind; she had no incentive to stop right now, so there was absolutely no chance she was going to, even without a real incentive to continue. Given that Shinomiya was entirely immune to feeling boredom, it was perfectly likely that she both could and would, in fact, continue drifting through the desert until sunrise.
