Born in the afterglow [Social, open]

[SimpleSerenity]

The sun fades over the horizon, the heat of the day beginning to wane. Murmurs can be heard from the city just over a nearby dune, the ancient, sand-blown walls rising up as an imposing safeguard to deter those who would do the inhabitants harm. It is beautiful in a way, a testament to the good intentions of those who had erected it. A monument of sorts to safety and life when all else that lay before those great walls is naught but death and desolation.

The desert of Sunagakure is a hostile, unforgiving place, and now as the world begins to fade with the sun the dunes become more ominous, the crepuscular light lending them a sense of foreboding. A lone figure wanders languidly in their midst; pausing from time to time to stop and gaze at the setting sun as it falls farther and farther away from the world, leaving the moon to rule the night. The figure pauses and falls back into the sand, a soft thud followed by a quiet rustling.

Gin loved the night, loved the desert; the dunes most of all. It was here that he felt one of the most beautiful sights could be seen. There were few things as beautiful to the boy as the setting of the sun, or the rising of the moon. It was, to him, very symbolic of the beauty found in death. The sun, glorious and bright faded, died, and passed away, for only then could the moon in all of her iridescent glory, dance among the stars, lightning the night in such pale artistry.

As he gazed up into the infinite wonder that unfolded before him, Gin wondered what it was he should do now. Life had been so simple before, every day filled with the same things. He would wake up, go to class, come home and practice or read until he felt the need to write or perhaps sing. His weekends were filled with smiles and laughter as he entertained those in his neighborhood with new poems or songs. Things had been plain, easy. Now that he had graduated from the academy Gin was, for the first time in his life, unsure. It was understandable, he supposed. Many of his friends had voiced similar concerns, but Gin felt that perhaps he was more troubled than they. He had never been a particularly strong fighter. He instead focused on more... clever ways of solving problems or defeating others. This had not been an issue when he was in the academy but now Gin found himself thrust into the shinobi world. This was not a place of games and sparring, and Gin was diffident. Were his abilities enough to see him safely through his time in this world?

The young genin noted that his musing had caused him to miss the final moments of sunset, and now night had fallen, a comforting blanket assuaging the harshness of the light and heat of the day. He wished it could stay like this forever, dark, cool, beautiful. Gin's dark clothing made him stand out against the pale dunes, his cloak spread out behind him like the wings of some mythical creature, fallen to the earth and gazing back towards whence it came. Perhaps he would stay here, just a bit longer and relish the night.

[seiuchiblarg]

He packed up his puppets, finished tinkering in the sand. These Holy Dunes were the only places he could go for real privacy long enough to work on his puppets without being seen, except for his room, but that was always too cluttered with other prototypes and concepts to really work in. Now, Nefarious had once again taken his rightful place at Jiigo's shoulder, and Insidious was hidden, curled away in the puppeteer's pocket, just as he loved to be. He didn't know if he'd been out here for six hours or seven, but his dark skin had just a touch of pink to it thanks to the ever-baking presence of the sun. Now in the cool night, Jiigo made his way home, trudging through soft sands that shifted and slid under his feet. These dunes wouldn't have been forgiving enough for Jiigo to climb through them with Nefarious. He'd been growing more and more reliant on that as a means of transport: trudging through the sand like this would be a nice workout and do him some good.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself. He huffed and puffed as he pushed his way up the dunes, legs aching as he worked his way up and back and core muscles aching as he held himself upright on the way down. It wasn't a completely breathless or tremendously laborious sort of panting, but you could tell he was putting in more effort than that to which he was accustomed. He realized how out of shape he'd been getting by relying on Nefarious as transport when he looked to the top of a dune with dread from below. Onward he trudged, marching up, at times on all fours when it got particularly steep, until he reached the top, when gravity helped him to slide down.

Eventually, he caught sight of a darkly clad kid about his own age. Surprised to see anybody else out here in no man's land, Jiigo slid down to investigate. Pretty much riding the sand down to the bottom of the dune, Jiigo gave a sheepish grin at the man as he skated on past him. gravity doing the work for speed more than the genin himself. "Hey," Jiigo said, more friendly than usual thanks to the cool night air, the rush of sliding down the dunes, and the relaxing experience of spending seven hours alone with his puppets. From the frail, slim features that he saw, an the pale skint hat suggested the guy didn't get out much in the first place, Jiigo wouldn't even have guessed he was a ninja if it weren't for the Hitai-ate at his waist. He was taller than Jiigo, but with as tiny as he was, they might have weighed about the same, give or take a few pounds. Jiigo guessed him to be a newer genin, perhaps a year or two younger than him, and from the lack of power he saw, maybe a more distanced fighter, more used to staying back than getting right into the fray. "Y'know, younger Genin really shouldn't be out here on their own. You could get yourself hurt."

[SimpleSerenity]

Gin's musing were interrupted with a sudden commotion accompanied by the appearance of another boy. Gin was unsure if this newcomer was friend or foe, and in the darkness he struggled to make out the other shinobi's headband. It was surprising to find another suna nin out this far. Gin spent many evenings out here in the dunes before heading to bed, and he'd never seen another soul. He smiled up at the other boy, one who was most likely older than himself, as he did not recognize him.

Hey. Y'know, younger Genin really shouldn't be out here on their own. You could get yourself hurt."

Gin was taken aback. It seemed this stranger was not only friendly, but his voice carried no snobbery or guile. He seemed to be genuinely concerned for a stranger's health. Gin stretched a moment before rising to greet his new acquaintance.

"Hello, a pleasure to see someone else out enjoying the beauty of twilight in the desert. I appreciate your concern for my safety, as fellow shinobi of Sunagakure no Sato we must look out for one another, no? I shall be quite careful I assure you. Might I ask who I have the pleasure of meeting? I cannot say that I recognize you from the academy."

Gin smiled as he spoke his bit, his voice quiet and melodic, almost as if he were singing. This was not something he could control, whenever he spoke it was as if he had to force himself to keep from song. This was, at times, embarrassing as there was a certain degree of formality and tone expected of a shinobi. Try as he might, though, Gin spoke in his usual manner. His musical tendencies peeking through the facade of his shinobi appearance.

[seiuchiblarg]

"Uh... Yeah." Jiigo was more than a little taken aback by the kid's way of speaking. There was something off, maybe too feminine, in his voice. His words were so trained on etiquette that Jiigo wondered if the kid had ever had time to train the rest of him! He didn't see anything wrong with being polite, of course, but it sounded like every word was chosen carefully in the split second that it took to choose them. "My name's Samata, Jiigo. I'm only a genin myself, but I'm one of the most trusted and respected genin in the village." He suddenly felt the need to justify his own presence out here, as if it would be rude not to explain why he was able to be out here alone and the other kid wasn't. Or maybe he just liked dick measuring contests. Probably a bit of both.

"If you're finished doing whatever out here, may as well let me walk you home." He put hi hands at the back of his head in a relaxed manner as he started down the dune. comparatively, they weren't too ar out, and they weren't so steep up this way. "Up for it?"

[SimpleSerenity]

Gin smiled at the newcomer, he was, as usual, a very happy individual, and this unexpected company could be viewed as something of a treat. Despite being rather popular and well liked for his musical ability, Gin didn't have anyone he'd consider a close friend. Most of the time he spent outside of the academy so far had been dedicated to music, poetry, and reading. He had just convinced his parents to purchase another one-hundred books for him, and he'd already gone through half of them. The last week was somewhat of a blur. It might be nice to have a friend; maybe this boy, Jiigo, could be Gin's friend.

"Uh...Yeah. My name's Samata, Jiigo. I'm only a genin myself, but I'm one of the most trusted and respected genin in the village."

Jiigo seemed put off a bit, perhaps by Gin's way of speaking. He was used to this, people were often taken aback when they met him for the first time. It wasn't that he tried to sound a certain way, it was simply that he spent so much time reading, he'd developed a way of speaking similar to the way the characters in this favorite stories spoke. Adults found it to be strange at first, but were always saying what a polite boy he was. Other children just assumed he was "odd" and left it at that.

"If you're finished doing whatever out here, may as well let me walk you home. Up for it?"

Gin was excited, it was rare that he had an offer of such kindness extended. Sure, people were nice to him, but very rarely did they offer to do things for him. It was usually his responsibility as a child and a new genin to do things for others. Granted, he didn't need Jiigo's assistance, but he wasn't going to turn it down either.

"I would be very glad to have you accompany me. It is a rather long walk to take alone, and I feel I should like to get to know you better. It is always a good thing to powerful friends... At least, that is what my books tell me. To tell you the truth I haven't many friends but I would like to make some. Imagine my good fortune in finding such a skilled and friendly shinobi at this hour."

Gin smiled his brightest and waited to follow Jiigo, perhaps he'd been too forward about the whole "friend" bit. He hoped he hadn't offended the other genin somehow.

[seiuchiblarg]

"Oh, you're an egghead type!" That explained a lot. The words sounded sort of harsh in Jiigo's typically tactless way, but he was smiling in a way that was relaxed and friendly. There was no malice or hostility to be seen in his expression. He turned and started walking towards the Sand Village, just assuming the boy would fall in with him. "That's cool. Yeah, you're in safe hands with me, kid." Jiigo kept his hands on his head, walking without caring much.

"So I take it from the way you talk you read a lot, huh? Is that what you were doin' out here? Couldn't say I'd blame you: everybody needs a little peace and quiet some time." Somewhere a two or three miles ahead, the village's flames were burning, and you could see their light shining against the night sky, stars more prevalent and populous as they moved away.

[SimpleSerenity]

"Oh, you're an egghead type!"

Gin almost laughed aloud at the words. It was true, he supposed. He'd always been more interested in art and books than he was in sports or physical prowess. It seemed only fitting that some would view him as an "egghead type." Gin had heard the term before jokingly from his mother, and he'd been so curious as to what it meant that he had gone to look it up. The term fit him. By his estimation it was a fairly accurate description.

The young Satome smiled at Jiigo's assurance that he was in good hands. As the genin fell in line behind his new friend he wondered if this was merely a chance meeting, or perhaps a fated night that would lead to a lasting relationship. Gin had many friends and acquaintances but none were intimate friends; those he could share his dreas with. Gin began humming merrily as they walked through the shifting sands back toward the village. It was a new tune he was working on and he'd had it stuck in his mind all day.

"Egghead; I like it. It does seem rather fitting for one such as myself, no? I was not reading on this occasion though. I was ruminating. Wondering where I fit in to the grand contrivance. I feel as though I am searching for meaning or perhaps waiting for a sign. I'll get it someday though."