You Ain't Scared Of No Man

[sustainthesword]

WHO: Hotsuma, Maka, Soul, open to Shuuichi and the curious
WHAT: Following a run-in with the Boogeyman, Hotsuma decides to GET TO DE CHOPPAH let Maka visit the sighting location and see what she can find.
WHERE: The Jungle, in a clearing south of the river.
WHEN: 8:45 PM

Comments

[agoodheart]

Stealth had never been Marcus's strong point. He had always been better at just attacking the problem head on, and taking it out. If that didn't work, he made a quick retreat. And that was only if he couldn't avoid the problem all together, but he rarely was that lucky. And he always seemed to meet up with people whose luck was even worse than his.

And it was because of Hotsuma's unlucky encounter that he now made his way through the jungle towards the place his friend had described. And it was because they were friends that he made no attempt to cover his movement throught the trees and bushes.

Besides, it was kind of hard to sneak around when your hair practically glowed in the dark... damn candy.

Hotsuma's sudden appearance out the trees almost made Marucs flinch. Almost. They were hunting a phantom of some sort right? He had a right to be a little scared. After all, if it freaked out a guy who stabbed himself to wake up from a nightmare, then it had to be frightening. "So this is where it happened?"

[sustainthesword]

The shinobi had been looking forward to the other man's appearance. This was their first face-to-face encounter since their conversations over the journals, and tonight he welcomed what he saw. Marcus was tall and powerfully built, dwarfing Hotsuma by a few inches. He carried himself in that professional way all men who'd had their share of conflict (and lived to tell about it) did. Here was a warrior, and that was good. But the fact such strength was merely the outer shell of a trustworthy man's heart? That was even better.

Not even he could hide a double-take at the other man's bright hair though. But he said nothing, figuring it was his business. His nod-bow to the other man was a courteous 'good evening'.

"Yes." He pointed to a tree behind them, where at its roots lay a half-eaten apple being feasted on by a brood of ants. The finger rose to the tree's highest branch. "I was dining there..."

Then it moved to another one right beside it. "...when lightning revealed it watching me there. You can see the path I used to chase it,

[falce]

She wasn't sure what this thing was. But the description immediately sprung the thought of a Kishin egg in her mind. There'd been so many of them on the island that time when there had been so many horrid creatures from all the different worlds everyone was from. There was the chance that maybe this was a kishin egg. There was no way they were taking a chance.

With Soul left to tag along after her trying to keep up, Maka hurried through the thick trees and bushes of the forest. Not that far from here... She climbed over fallen trees in her way, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her companion was still in sight behind her.

Her eyes spotted the brighter light from the moon in the clearing up ahead, and shortly after broke through the bushes to the clearing."Hotsuma," She greeted, glancing over at Marcus and raising a brow. She was positive she didn't know him.She'd caught up enough to hear the end of Hotsuma's explanation, and she could guess the rest of it easily.

[ooc; pssst track the log if we're getting more than two

[fox_shuuichi]

Kurama's curiosity was piqued, that much was true, but it was less a purely academic curiosity and more a deep-seated dread of what this place could next throw at him. Something that moved with enough stealth to catch a ninja off-guard, something that disappeared without a trace... Kurama wanted to know what it was, and what it wanted.

He also wanted to know if 'without a trace' was entirely accurate. Hotsuma, after all, for all his abilities, was still human - and without a demon's more precise sense of smell. So as he moved easily through the Jungle (though he hated it, it was familiar enough territory by now), he shifted forms, and slipped up against the edges of the clearing.

For now, he would remain out of sight - Hotsuma, of course, knew of his true form, but he had no desire to explain to these others. If or when they left to explore the path down which Hotsuma had pursued the creature, Kurama would make himself known to the ninja.

Hotsuma-->Marcus-->Maka-->Kurama (?)

[sustainthesword]

Maka had recovered well. That was good. As she joined, he returned her greeting with a curt nod. Having learning about her and her role back home, he was more inclined to treat her as a fellow warrior than as a civilian. To give respect where it was due.

One other had come to the gathering, but that one was staying just at the edge of their vision. Hotsuma knew who it was from the responses to his entry and the sensations Akujiki was giving him. And he understood his apparent wish to hold back, at least for now. The ninja would respect that too.

"There's been one other sighting so far.", he told Marcus and Maka. "While the Creature hasn't done anything yet beyond revealing itself, it would be safer for everyone if we could find out what we're dealing with here. I'm at my wit's end for that, and was hoping you could... perhaps give new insight."

Sorry I'm late ;~;

[soulnommer]

Soul had made quite a commotion when Maka had declared they were going into the jungle -many of them that's dangerous, I'm not going- and the like. But, as always, with all his complaining, Soul went along anyway.

If Maka thought it was a kishin, there were two reasons for his appearance. Kishin eggs were dangerous for a meister without her weapon and he was worried she hadn't made a full recovery and was masking it. As such, he was appointing himself to make sure she didn't stress herself out too much.

For all this, Soul's face and body language showed irritation and unwillingness to be here. But Maka would do as she would do, and so he was here. It was a delicate balance between being a pet and being a partner.