On My Way

Chen made his way through the forest of an unknown and unnamed country. The route of transit did not matter. What mattered was his destination: the Heavenly Emporium. The floating city could be seen in the distance and as he drew nearer to it, his stomach curled into knots. The war was ending and this was the first time he'd ever been to the neutral zone. The magnificent city glowed in the evening night as it floated in the air like some kind of alien spaceship. He had business on the flying fortress, namely to gather intelligence for the benefit of Iwagakure. The nation was weak so whatever information could be gathered about the other major and minor nations would be more valuable than gold. The Heavenly Emporium was hovering out in an open field and there were various cables and lifts towards the bottom which could ferry people into the construct. In order to get there though, Chen had to walk through a nearby forest. He didn't expect to come across anyone but he was ready for an encounter all the same.

Meanwhile, in the same forest, a couple dozen feet above the ground, he tilted his head. "Okay, the hell is that thing?" He muttered, tilting his head. Things that big... didn't float, as far as he knew, but evidently that was entirely untrue. Hearing movement to his side, he spied another young man traversing the forest. He looked like he had something wet stuck in his ears, and was apparently heading towards that very same... floating... thing. Huh. With a quick check, he made sure his other arms were safely hidden from view, before he started leaping from branch to branch, in curious pursuit of the boy.

Now, then... strike up a conversation... keep it casual, and... hope the guy's foul mood doesn't result in him responding violently to the intrusion. Either way, he strung his bow over his shoulder, having neglected the fact that he had been carrying it in his arms until now, and figured pursuit while armed wasn't exactly a good look for him. As he leaped from branch to branch, he cleared his throat, scratching his head. Great, now he was nervous, too. "... Hey! There! Guy!" Nailed it.

Chen stopped dead in his tracks. Someone was shouting. Chen turned his head in the direction of the voice and spied a young man with orange hair waving his arms around. The area around the Heavenly Emporium was safer than most parts, but it wasn't the city itself. Drawing too much attention to yourself could have fatal consequences. Chen wondered who could be so stupid as to make themselves a target in a forest like this. Or....it could be someone unbelievably strong.... there were a lot of those roaming the ninja world and you never knew who was who until it was too late.

Chen turned around and stared at the newcomer. He didn't even dignify the response with a "What?" He just stared. Chen had that way about him. He had been like that ever since he was a child and he expected to continue to be like that for the rest of his days. The goth's expression however made up for what his throat didn't say. Sinokira had called him out and he wanted to know why.

Okay... Not a strong response. Now this was just awkward. The last thing the guy wanted. And here he was, trying to look all friendly and junk. Oh, well, on to the point of getting the guy's attention. "You see that? Crazy, right? Any idea what it is?" he asked, nonchalantly. This guy seemed to prefer getting right to the point, so he might as well go along with it. "I've never seen something so crazy, have you? Think it's held up by ropes, maybe magnets?" He theorized aloud. Still, he was a bit unnerved by the intensity of the kid's stare.

"Err, the name's Sinokira!" he announced, waving his way. "I'm new here, or, well, anywhere. Think that place will shoot at me if I go there?" He asked, conversationally. It seemed that as long as someone was around, the boy was rather chatty. That or he was a bit desperate for company, or just nervous to be stared at.

When Sinokira asked what the floating city in the distance was Chen looked around. This had to be an ambush of some kind. Who could be so stupid as to not be aware of what the Heavenly Emporium was. It was a pretty lousy execuse for a distraction and if that's what the stranger was rolling with then must have been a weakling or had a low opinion of Chen. Either way, the goth was going to use this as a reason to disrespect him. He failed to reply to the question and instead pointed to him.

"Get out of my sight Sinokira"

He was mainly testing the stranger. If he was as meek as he was ignorant, then the goth would enjoy taking his frustrations out on the hapless wanderer.

The strange boy stood up straight, tilting his head. "Well that's a bit rude. Haven't your parents ever told you how to greet a new friend?" He crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Here I am, asking a simple question and you go and snap at me. Don't you think that's a bit rude?" He asked, walking along the side of the branch with nonchalance. With that bristly attitude, he had no interest of approaching the weirdo.

He wasn't spooked by words alone, it seemed, as he merely shrugged them off and kept chatting. "Ah, well, if people up there are as rude as you, there's no point in heading there, after all." He shrugged, scratching his head. Well, that was a bummer. First guy he meets and he's already pissed off. His words were likely not helping, but oh well, such is the burden of a socially inept lone wanderer. He stretched, "Well, I'm gonna go set up a hammock or something." He explained, walking down to the bottom of the stick, his head pointing straight down. "How do you sleep? Out here, I mean. Tent, sleeping bag, hammock, do you seek out shelter or make it yourself?" He rained questions down at the emo, trying to get a different reaction from him, and if it were a violent one... He could always run for his life. He was a good distance away, after all.

Chen continued to stare at Sinokira as he was chastised for his rudeness. The stare was blank and devoid of emotion. It was like he was talking to a literal brick wall. Chen was partially amused by Sinokira's response. It reminded him of Shiro to be honest. Sinokira was going to visit the Heavenly Emporium but he was discouraged by Chen's rudeness. Chen saw this as a weak man's move. He hadn't even done anything to Sinokira except attempted to intimidate him. If he was so easily frightened then he had no business entering the floating city. Chen could have told him that no harm would ever come to him on the Heavenly Emporium but he wasn't sure it'd do any good.

The stranger proceeded to set up camp in Chen's vicinity and he began asking questions on the subject. Chen said nothing for awhile but decided there was no harm in responding. "I don't sleep in the dirt like an animal. There are inns on the well-traveled roads" Chen enjoyed luxury and his new position in Iwa afforded him enough to cover reasonable accommodations. Of course, it took longer to get where he was going but it meant he could travel in comfort. "What village are you from Sinokira?" He wasn't impressed by this blonde but knowing where he was from couldn't hurt. It was valuable intelligence that he might be able to use to his advantage at some point. He was not obeying Chen's command which meant that he wasn't a total pushover but he wasn't acting aggressively either. Curious.

Well, wasn't this guy the definition of charming? He could feel the boy scowling from so far away. Was he allergic to acting neighborly? Here's hoping it wasn't a cultural presence, and this guy was just a dick. But if he was let inside, who knows what manner of pushy bullies were lurking about? His lack of any real answer was mainly because he was talking to a blank slate. He considered sticking him with an arrow to see his face then, but... eh, he wasn't the sort to bully some stranger like that. Plus he could always just run away.

Woah! It speaks! He asked the questions, but didn't entirely expect answers from him! Of course, they were rude and standoffish, but at least he was giving him something to work with! Problem was that word... "In? In where?" He asked, before shrugging. "But I getcha. Trees are a lot comfier and cleanly." He agreed, sagely. "Village? Hm..." His tribe's home didn't really have a name, it was just home... "Oh, right, you ninjas are all separated and stuff. Nah, I'm not from anywhere you've heard about." He explained, briefly. "By the by, when someone gives you their name, it's common courtesy to return yours, isn't it?" He asked, casually.

Oh so he's a simian Chen thought amusedly. The idea of sleeping in the trees was just as inane to him as sleeping in the mud. While away on missions, shinobi may not have the luxury of proper lodgings but this cretin appeared to be all too happy to rough it. He declined to say where he was from although he implied he wasn't a shinobi by trade. If Chen struck him down there would be no international repercussions. Chen fantasized about the possibility when Sino asked him for his name.

"My name is none of your business. I suggest you create a shadow clone to keep watch while you sleep. There's no telling what can happen in the wilderness"

Chen realized there was little to gain from this conversation. Either this young man was smart enough not to give away any important information or he was really just a random civilian. In either event, there was no utility to continuing the conversation. He turned and left to head towards the HE.

[Exit]