Heart of the Forest (Please PM to join.)

It was early morning, he knew by the positioning of the sun, he had not wasted any of the day, a positive note. He looked around the medium sized rectangle room that he called home. His water basin was full, no need to go to the springs. He had plenty of dried meat remaining, it would be unnecessary to hunt for more on this day. His garden was in full bloom, food was not a concern for him on this day. No, this day now belonged to him.

The real question is what he would do with his day, as he had much he wished to accomplish. His swords could be oiled, his kimonos could be pressed and hung to dry in the morning sun, his painting stencil remained empty, perhaps he should hang more canvas and begin a new painting, or perhaps study his calligraphy... there were no limits. All viable options, Saitou decided that he would simply light a morning fire, and enjoy several hours of meditation and relaxation outside within the heart of the forest.

He was already dressed in one of his black Kimonos, and quickly grabbed the bulk of his long dark hair, tying it loosely in a ponytail, and dropping it over his shoulder. He tied a long white sash around his waist, and proceeded to grab his morning portion of dried meat, and walked out from his cottage.

He had always loved the blue glow the forest had given off. Even after all this time here, it had never become something he grew tired of seeing every day. It was quiet, as usual, but there was a slight breeze, warm against his pale skin. A smile crossed his face as he walked over to his firepit, carefully standing the deadwood in a teepee formation, applying exact balance to each piece, wherein perfection, would have been an understatement to any witness watching him create the structure. The fire started quickly, only 2 sparks of the whetstone, and added a welcomed heat to the early morning dew that surrounded Saitou. Placing a cushion only a few feet away from the fire, Saitou knelt down and folded his hands over each knee. He allowed his eyes to close, and let his other senses guide him. He felt the fire flickering and the wave of heat pass over his skin. He heard the snaps, and crackles, along with each light gust of wind. The smells. so perfect, no words could describe their beauty. His mind, empty, weightless, burden free...

His body sat motionless, so still that even his breathing was unnoticeable. He was in perfect balance. Here he would sit and stay for the next several hours, only guided by his senses. The best training for a sharp mind.

"I'm gonna kill 'im..."

THWACK!

"I'm so gonna kill 'im..."

THWACK!

"I'm gonna catch 'im... then I'm gonna skin him alive.... then roast his little rodent ass...."

THWACK! SLICE! THWACK!

Shade Leonhart continued her ragged grumbling as she swung her blade against the overgrowth of foliage through the odd forest she found herself in. Hell, at this point, she didn't even know what cursed world she was in due to her frantic chasing after her elusive, hyper little summons. Although the young squirrel was a naturally curious creature, and a bundle of energy to boot, he normally obeyed Shade even if it was with a reluctant attitude. But Skittles was a sore sucker for candy. The one and only thing that over ruled Shade's authority...


How he ever sniffed out the carrier ship hauling 17,000 pounds of sugar drops, salt water taffy, lollipops, and every other sweet tooth delectable to be had some 20 miles away was beyond Shade's understanding, but it was a hard lesson learned thus far. Never underestimate the powers of Skittles' nose when it came to anything with sugar in it....


When the multicolored squirrel suddenly shot off of her shoulder without warning while she was making her rounds about Balamb Garden, Shade wasn't too alarmed. He was a sensation to the youngest students there and often entertained them as they ate within the cafeteria. But when Shade saw him zip into one of his forms, she knew there was trouble... especially when he chose his Sephiroth form. That meant he was far too happy about something and wanted to get to it fast! Such did not bode well for whatever, or whomever, his target was. Shade gave chase as best she could, but Skittles was focused and used his skills to their full potential to avoid her in flight until his destination came into site. He dove straight into the airship's hanger just as the massive doors were about to close, with Shade still in pursuit and barely making it through just as the steel doors slammed against the soles of her boots.


Complete darkness followed within the storage hanger with only the rustling sounds of torn boxes and shredded paper, along with the delighted chatter of one victorious squirrel, most likely still in his Sephiroth form and cramming what delicacies could fit into his mouth all at once. Shade didn't need to see him to track him now. So long as he continued his chomping and slurping, she could hear him well enough to catch him. But just as she got to her feet, the engines of the airship ignited and a sudden jolt of motion sent her toppling over with an annoyed yell, followed by Skittles' shrieking. "Oh you shut up!! This is you're doing that got us stuck in here in the first place!!" All Shade heard was the rodent's scolding squirrel chatter across the hanger and boxes being tossed about. Just as Shade was getting to her feet again, an alarm went off and a few red swirling lights attached to the walls suddenly came life. A faint mist began to seep through the random vents throughout the hanger ceiling which slammed Shade's mind to realize they were about to be knocked out unconscious from the fumes. It was a safety measure to ensure that by chance, if any rodents or insects found their way in, the gas would knock anything out that may risk damage to the food since lethal pesticides were too risky at possibly poisoning the goods. "SKITTLES!! YOU LITTLE SHIT! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YO....." Then her body collapsed to the floor for a long sleep....


Now when Shade awoke with a pounding headache and struggling to pry open her eyes, she wasn't all too surprised to see one Vincent Valentine crouched on top of a mound of boxes shoving handfuls of chocolate onto his mouth. With a groan, she fought against the lingering effects of the gas to sit up just as the hanger doors to the airship re-opened. Skittles head perked up, and just as the very man he cloned, he leaped through the air like a wraith of crimson streaks and shot out of the hanger. The inconvenience of her suffering didn't matter now as Shade lunged back on her feet and gave chase, following the screams throughout the small city Skittles left in his wake.

Which then led Shade to the outskirts of the foreign city and into the god-forsaken forest she found herself lost in for endless hours and all through the night. What made her temper worse was that Skittles purposely stayed nearby within the trees just so his summoner could hear his scolding chatter. "MY fault? How is this mess MY FAULT!?" You get down here you little rat!" But only silence followed, leaving Shade to seriously wonder if Bernhardt Rhodes gifted her with this remarkable squirrel, or secretly cursed Shade once again.... She barely slept through the night, being far too angry to rest when her body craved for it. No doubt the Garden faculty was going nuts by her sudden disappearance with no word of her whereabouts, as well as not knowing herself. So after she managed a short nap, Shade awakened at dawn with a screaming stomach, a pounding head, and a fouler mood than ever before.


"I should just leave him here...."

THWACK!

"Let him get a taste of the wild life..."

SLASH! THWACK!

"...and all the thINGS THAT WANT TO EAT HIM!" She paused and shouted her last words to the tree limbs above her, knowing Skittles was somewhere up there listening to her, but far too smart to allow her to catch him just yet. If she wasn't so encased by trees and plant life, Shade could possibly use her wings to at least get an overview of her surroundings and hopefully catch a glimpse of his multi colored fur, but she could barely walk through the forest, let alone fly out of it. But then Skittles cried out from a distance... not a cry of pain, but of excitement.... which still alarmed Shade all over again. Now, in a full run, her sword slashed against anything in her way toward the sound and finally finding a spark of hope when she saw a clearing up ahead. She could smell fire and food before she crashed through the brush to find herself within some campsite of sorts and heaving for breath as she stared dumbfounded at the young man simply sitting peacefully upon the ground.


Before a word could escape her lips, a high pitched shriek came from above. Shade's head jerked up for her widened gaze to see Skittles in his array of colorful fur come soaring out of the trees for a divebomb attack after the food. But his aim was sorely off and he was about to land straight into the fire. By the stars, she didn't mean her threat literally!! With a shout of alarm, Shade bolted for the fire in hopes to catch him, but in her haste of rare panic, she failed to notice the clump of rocks, but her feet did, sending her falling forward to the ground. In a swift jerk to get up again, she saw Skittles suddenly realize his own mistake and now he was shrieking in fear while clawing madly against the air as he fell straight for the fire.


He was sharp in battle, but lacked alot of common sense. Shade immediately screamed another form command that took over the squirrel's body with a whirlwind tunnel until body came to an abrupt stop just above the campfire. With his eyes staring wide into the fire for a brief moment, he then turned his head to Shade while still hovering horizontally over the flames and lit up with a childish grin. Shade slowly got to her feet and brushed the dirt off from her military pants while shaking her head at him with a threatening glare. "You're no Genesis... so stop showing off!"


He rewarded with her with his tongue sticking out and making a 'pbbt' noise before suddenly shooting off straight up into the air and causing a massive cloud of smoke and ash from the campfire to spill out around them. Now left to face the embarrassment of their intrusion, Shade slammed the tip of her sword blade into the ground and sighed at the young man. "Sorry about that. He gets carried away around food and new people." Without waiting for the stranger to reply, Shade got to the point like she always did in a conversation. "Can you tell me where I am? More specifically, what world I was dropped into? I need to get back to mine post haste."

Saitou's tranquility was not meant to last on this day. His teachings should have been more sharply remembered, that there is no such thing as the perfect day. He heard the squirrel, and the woman chasing it from quite the distance away, but did not break his meditation to deal with the situation. It was not his place to intervene anyway. Soon enough though, the two had made his way into his clearing. the squirrel, falling towards his fire, and the girl, approaching, only after tripping over the earth itself. The chaos did not stir him from his serenity, but what did, was the actions of the bizarrely behaved squirrel twisting and morphing into a human male.

Saitou's eyes opened, not in shock or disbelief, but in curiosity at the purpose and necessity of such a trick. Nonetheless, his meditation could not be continued at the current moment, and as the strange man made his departure, he turned his attention to the young woman who was now stranded in his home. He stood from his knees and bowed his head quickly before walking over to his outside water basin and filling a wooden cup with the fresh clear liquid. He walked back to the woman and handed her the cup as he began to reply to her inquiries.

"You currently are deep within a forrest named Macalania, on the world of Spira. It is a long journey from here until you will reach civilization, I will assure you. If you are well rested we may depart immediately to return you by the safest route. If not I suggest you use my shelter, and recover your strength. There is plenty of food and water inside, along with clean linens, and a spring only a short walk away if you wish to bathe.".

As he spoke he gestured to his cottage, and then to the carved out path he made that lead to the spring. This woman was clearly in the wrong place, and regardless of who she was, he would not send her on her way alone on the journey back to somewhere civilized to catch the nearest airship. He walked over to a clothesline and removed a teal colored sleeveless kimono cloak from the line, sliding each arm through the sleeveless holes one at a time and adjusting it to appear once again well maintained and proper. He looked back at the young woman, curiously, waiting for her to decide what she would choose to do.

Shade found a good bit of relief that this stranger didn't erupt into a spasm of panic, nor did he leap to his feet and run, or immediately attempt to attack her. It was usually the norm when folks came across Skittles' antics, or seeing her with a sword in hand and a foul expression across her face. Not that such reactions bothered Shade. She'd grown quite used it as a part of her routine in life. Yet this one, in his strange garb and meager surroundings, remained quite calm through it all with only a hint of curiosity etched across his face. When he came to stand at full height, Shade quickly accessed that he was a well kept individual, no doubt strong by right to his height, but most of all what Shade took notice to were his eyes.

He met her gaze head on, showing no trepidation, which was silent proof that he was a focused individual. Those who bore a steady look in their hues only proved to Shade they were trained with some form of obedience practice, whether it be self taught, or by other means of training as she endured through SeeD. There were only a few she encountered with such a gaze in her past travels, and they all proved to be strong impeccable fighters.

But he held no weapon in hand, nor did he appear as if he would go after one. He remained calm and relaxed, as did his voice when he spoke; answering her question, and then an invitation to rest if she needed it before she set off again. The name of her location wasn't all too familiar, but the world was. As he continued to speak, Shade reached down into her side pocket just above her knee and retrieved her PDA device. Thanks to Bernhardt Rhodes once more for gifting her with something more useful than that wild squirrel of hers flying around who knows where in the sky at the moment. She pried her glove off with her teeth to press the buttons easier when typing in the information, and within seconds, she had a visual map of her current location and the nearest sign of civilization. It also confirmed this young man was telling her truth. It would be quite a long trek to reach the nearest city.

When her exhausted gaze rose up from her device, he was just then pointing to his cottage and extending her the invitation to rest a bit. With a heavy sigh, she rubbed her forehead a bit while reluctantly coming to the conclusion that she was indeed weary from hunger and lack of sleep. So while dropping her hand to her side and slipping the PDA back into her pocket, Shade chose to confess and accept his offer. "I'll admit, I haven't eaten anything in over twenty four hours, and only an hour or two of sleep before dawn...." She looked in the direction of the spring, but her legs muscles immediately cramped in defiance to walk any further after the long chase the day before. Finally, Shade simply sat in a relaxed position upon the ground before the small fire. "Perhaps a brief rest would be wise...."

Just then, Skittles, who was now back into his small squirrel form, bolted out of the nearby brush to scamper up Shade's back and under her hair to rest upon her shoulder and nuzzle softly against her cheek. She neither flinched by his sudden appearance, or looked at him, while keeping her gaze directed upon the flames. "I hate you, right now...." She muttered softly. The tree rodent merely squeaked and chattered softy as if in attempts to chuckle at her.