An Interrupted Interlude
Joining: Open
Location: The Nara-owned section of Konoha's forest
Time: Early afternoon
Recap: n/a
Warnings: None
It was never-ending, the amount of care that went into the forest surrounding the Nara family’s home on the outskirts of Konoha. It was usually a thankless task, taking care of the animals to make sure they were healthy and that no one had been poaching them, but a necessary one all the same. Shikamaru’s family would kill the animals themselves when the time came, to ensure that it was done properly and that crucial parts could be collected intact to be used in various medicines, from the deer especially. And until that time came for each creature, they took great care in keeping the part of Konoha’s forest that was theirs peaceful, and with a careful balance.
Usually ‘guarding the forest from poachers’ was interpreted as ‘make a few rounds, then take a nap in the middle of a meadow’, which is how Shikamaru had gained his reputation as the number one lazy ninja who preferred to look at the clouds all day. Granted, he preferred to look at the clouds all day. And granted, he was indeed the number one laziest ninja at times, but it always started off with at least a few trips through the forest just to make sure things were in order.
At this particular moment though Shikamaru wasn’t being lazy. Yet. He was looking forward to being lazy. He had every intent in the world to stretch out and accomplish nothing, but before that could happen he was currently knelt down in the grass, tending to the injured leg of a fawn. Two weeks ago the creature had twisted its ankle on a fallen branch, likely during a storm, and Shikamaru had taken care in bandaging its leg and feeding it pills every few days to help the young thing recover.
It had been walking fine the last few minutes from what he’d seen, as fine as you could walk while you were still all bandaged up, and so Shikamaru had decided to free the fawn’s leg from the white fabric and to let it roam again as normal. The creature showed no fear to him, standing still as calmly as a docile dog or cat might when one they were used to was near. And with a few tugs and rips of the fabric, Shikamaru gathered the gauze up in his palms and stood, scratching the creature briefly behind an ear before a very slight sound caught his attention.
He wasn’t the only one to hear it. It was very faint, like a few rustling leaves, but that was enough to send the deer off in a frantic dash for anywhere but here. Shikamaru simply stood straight. Whether it was another animal or a person behind him he wasn’t sure yet, but whoever it was wasn’t very far. It had been just the rustling of a few leaves. Not the wind, that was for sure - both his senses and that of the fawn’s had told him that. He didn’t reach for a kunai or even turn yet. Instead, he remained motionless, calm and ready as he breathed in and out of his lungs.
Location: The Nara-owned section of Konoha's forest
Time: Early afternoon
Recap: n/a
Warnings: None
It was never-ending, the amount of care that went into the forest surrounding the Nara family’s home on the outskirts of Konoha. It was usually a thankless task, taking care of the animals to make sure they were healthy and that no one had been poaching them, but a necessary one all the same. Shikamaru’s family would kill the animals themselves when the time came, to ensure that it was done properly and that crucial parts could be collected intact to be used in various medicines, from the deer especially. And until that time came for each creature, they took great care in keeping the part of Konoha’s forest that was theirs peaceful, and with a careful balance.
Usually ‘guarding the forest from poachers’ was interpreted as ‘make a few rounds, then take a nap in the middle of a meadow’, which is how Shikamaru had gained his reputation as the number one lazy ninja who preferred to look at the clouds all day. Granted, he preferred to look at the clouds all day. And granted, he was indeed the number one laziest ninja at times, but it always started off with at least a few trips through the forest just to make sure things were in order.
At this particular moment though Shikamaru wasn’t being lazy. Yet. He was looking forward to being lazy. He had every intent in the world to stretch out and accomplish nothing, but before that could happen he was currently knelt down in the grass, tending to the injured leg of a fawn. Two weeks ago the creature had twisted its ankle on a fallen branch, likely during a storm, and Shikamaru had taken care in bandaging its leg and feeding it pills every few days to help the young thing recover.
It had been walking fine the last few minutes from what he’d seen, as fine as you could walk while you were still all bandaged up, and so Shikamaru had decided to free the fawn’s leg from the white fabric and to let it roam again as normal. The creature showed no fear to him, standing still as calmly as a docile dog or cat might when one they were used to was near. And with a few tugs and rips of the fabric, Shikamaru gathered the gauze up in his palms and stood, scratching the creature briefly behind an ear before a very slight sound caught his attention.
He wasn’t the only one to hear it. It was very faint, like a few rustling leaves, but that was enough to send the deer off in a frantic dash for anywhere but here. Shikamaru simply stood straight. Whether it was another animal or a person behind him he wasn’t sure yet, but whoever it was wasn’t very far. It had been just the rustling of a few leaves. Not the wind, that was for sure - both his senses and that of the fawn’s had told him that. He didn’t reach for a kunai or even turn yet. Instead, he remained motionless, calm and ready as he breathed in and out of his lungs.