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(no subject)
Content: Kaa enters Paixoa and meets a strange man-cub
Setting: Muspelheim
Time: midday
Warnings: None, yet
“If I never sssee that ssskinny little ssshrimp again it will be too sssoon!” muttered the disgruntled and hungry Kaa as he began straightening himself out from his most unpleasant fall. This was made all the more unpleasant by the distinct emptiness he felt in his stomach, “Ooh… my ss-sacroiliac.” he muttered, before continuing on into the under brush of the jungle. When he emerged a moment later he was shocked to see a distinct lack of trees. He paused to look around. Where had the jungle gone! Kaa was near panicking as he sighted a large domed structure, with a long line of blond haired humans standing outside of it in a line. Strange, he’d never seen humans this pale before… his stomach gave a rumble. “Hhmm, perhaps thisss can work to my advantage.” whispered Kaa as he quietly crept up to human at the end of the line.
“Exsscussse
“Hmm?” asked Kaa, wasn’t he the one that was supposed to be asking the questions? “You’re’ name!” the man sounded extremely exasperated, as if he had had to go through this routine many times already. Maybe if he answered him he’d get his answers so he said “My name isss Kaa. Where am I? What hasss happened to the jungle? There ssseemsss to have been a sssudden change of ssscenery.” He added the last sentence just so that he could he could say more words with the letter s. “You’re in Paixoa, There’s some brochures over there and I’m sure this will help you as well.” as he said this he handed Kaa a strange boxlike object, or at least he tried. Kaa made no attempt to take the object instead raising his “eyebrows” at the man and giving him an ‘are you mentally challenged look’. The man seemed to misunderstand the reason for Kaas’ exasperation because he quickly said “Oh!” and reached beneath the counter and pulled out another box thing, but this one had a circular cord attached to one corner and had a strange little “branch” growing from the side. The man quickly draped it over Kaas’ head so that it hung about his neck like a collar. Kaa quickly debated with himself whether or not he should hypnotize the man but decided against it. After all eating him in front of everybody would mark him as dangerous (he certainly didn’t want that!) and anyone this stupid couldn’t be of any use to him, at least not yet… So Kaa left the man and entered through the gate, not bothering with the brochures sense he wouldn’t be able to use them without some effort, and the serpent was in no mood to exert such at the moment. Kaas’ stomach rumbled again. “Hmmm, perhapsss it isss time for sssome hunting.” And with that he made his way into the city.
(ooc: sorry, I had to post in hurry.)
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His wanderings took him to Muspelheim gate, and Haku had taken up a perch on one of the roofs so that he could watch the people coming through the gate. Really, with nothing better to do, this seemed to be the best way to pass the time.
The young shinobi's curiosity was piqued as a snake entered the city. How interesting! He had yet to see a snake in this city, though he supposed that it stood to reason. Didn't they usually avoid densely populated areas?
Haku moved from his present perch to something a bit closer. He wanted to get a better look.
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After a few moments he had it open and was working with it fine. From what the box referred to as the message board he discovered that he was in a place called Paixao, and that the box was called a journal. Most of the people on the board seemed to be answering questions to newcomers and seemed fairly exasperated by the repetitive task. So Kaa made a post of his own. The task seemed as though it would take forever! Typing with his coils was proving impossible! He gave a start as his words began to appear on the screen, not realizing he had been speaking to himself. A few sentences later he posted an idea on the subject, hoping that he was not being too bold. He was promptly mistaken for someone else by a local rodent. So much for that… he closed the journal and scented the air. There was a new scent on the air.
Kaa turned to locate the source of the new smell and promptly spotted a female man-cub perching on a nearby rooftop. Most humans that wore that much clothing tended to spend most of their time, if not all of it on the ground. Kaa gave a smile as he noticed the girl watching him. He slithered in her direction and upon reaching the building she was perched upon, proceeded to raise the front of his enormous body until he felt as though he towered over the citizens of this man-village. He positioned himself so that he was about head level with the man-cub. “Greetingsss man-cub, it ssseemsss asss though I’ve peaked your’ interest. My name isss Kaa. And who might you be little one?” His next meal could wait a while. Information usually paid off and besides, eating this young girl around so many other humans would probably be a bad idea. Besides, he wanted to make a good first impression in what was apparently his new home, whether he wanted it to be or not.
(ooc: yes I know Haku is actualy a boy.)
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Haku regarded Kaa for a moment before replying. "It isn't often that I see serpents, especially not in the city." He leaned forward carefully, to get a better look, letting the comment about being little slide. He wasn't that small, was he? "My name is Haku." Smile. "Pleased to meet you. Are you a summon?"
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Kaa was most pleasantly surprised when the man-cub hadn’t fled at his approach. He’d always been under the impression that females of the species tended to be very afraid of snakes, of course this one seemed to think that he was something else entirely!
In a sociable tone he continued “A pleasssure to meet you Haku.” Kaa bowed his head, a most human gesture. “Forgive me if I ssseem ignorant but, what isss a sssumon? Are they the naitivesss of this ssstrange man-village?” Then for good measure he added “And what exactly are you doing up here? I wasss under the impresssssion that female man-cubsss didn’t like climbing, or ssserpentsss for that matter.”
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"A summon is an animal that a shinobi has a contract with and can call out at will," Haku told Kaa. "I suppose, if you didn't know that, you must not be one. All the summons that I've heard of know they're summons.
"As for my being up here, well, it's easier than walking around down there." The words were spoken like it was the most obvious answer. Of course, to a shinobi, it was. "There are too many people down there, and I can more more freely when I'm not among them." Here, Haku smiled. "I don't mind climbing. It's not so bad, nor is it hard. And as for serpents, well... Let's just say I know how to take care of myself, hmm?"
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All thoughts were driven from his mind as the man-cub began to laugh. Had he said something funny? Oh, she must have been under the impression that he was calling her boyish or something. She must get that so much that she now finds it funny when ever someone misjudged her as a stereotypical girl.
Kaa listened intently as the young girl explained what a summon was. A contract? As in some sort of deal? The confusion was plain on his face although he tried to hide it. He chuckled at her explanation of why she was on the rooftop. His chuckle died though as soon as she said she could take care of herself. CRAP! He had gone from one from one overly self assured man-cub to another, the memory of being pushed from his perch in the tree came rushing to the fore front of his mind.
“Yesss, it’sss much better to be above the ground than on it…” Kaa’s mind drifted off for a moment, still reliving the embarrassing memory. He caught himself fairly quickly.
“I’m sssorry, you sssee, I just had an encounter with a man-cub about your’ age who said something very sssimilar to me. He then procsseeded to interrupt my lunch and push me
out of my tree, and all I did wasss offer him my friendssship.” Kaa sniffed dramatically as he finished, trying to arouse sympathy from the girl and not suspicion. After all, what he had said was technically true. She didn’t need to know that the man-cub in question was his lunch.
Kaa continued, “Then when I emerged from the underbrush I was outside this man-village.”
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Haku frowned at Kaa's comments about another "man-cub" as he seemed to refer to people of his age. "That's a shame," the effeminate shinobi told him. "I can't see why someone would be so rude. You seem like a very nice, ah, snake to me."
Haku offered Kaa a smile and extended his arm toward the serpent. "Would you like to come up here? I'm sure it'll be much easier than stretching yourself out like that..."
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“Ah, that is ever ssso much better.” He said this with a sigh, stretching his front coils in the same manner as any human stretching out their arms. “Ssso, how long have you been in this man-village?”
(ooc: Got it all fixed! Sorry it took so long.)
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Haku smiled at Kaa and looked thoughtful at his question. "To be honest, I've lost track. It's been months, though, I'm sure." Haku looked out at the Gate. "This isn't my village. But I don't know if I want to go back to mine..."
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He waited a moment and then asked “Are you alright? Perhapsss it’sss none of my buisssinesssss but it ssseemsss asss if that isss sssomethng of a painful sssubject for you. If you do not wisssh for me to inquire, I won’t.” There! Perfectly friendly and caring. He wondered how the strange girl who had no fear of snakes would react.
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"Here, I can do what I want, when I want to," Haku told Kaa, deigning to tell him what he could without getting too specific. Like the serpent assume something other than the fact that Haku was a ninja. "At home, I can't. Someone else calls the shots."
He paused, looking at the Gate again, watching the people that came into the city. If there was a constant influx of people, how didn't the city overflow? It was an interesting thought, and completely unrelated to what he was doing now. "I've gotten too used to being on my own of late."
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The python brightened up considerably at the note of wistfulness in Hakus’ tone as she said she’d been alone too much lately. Finally some differences! When he’d seen Mowgli only a short time ago he’d been pouting about how he didn’t need or want anybody to be his friend.
“Isss that an invitation or merely thinking out loud?” he asked. Perhaps she wasn’t as well known in this man-village as he’d first thought. The thought of luring her away to be devoured somewhere crossed his mind but he quickly pushed it aside. He couldn’t be to careful in this strange new place and this man-cubs confidence had him mildly perplexed. Besides, he wasn’t interested in getting another knot tied in his tail anytime soon, or for that matter ever.
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"Consider it an admonishment," the effeminate shinobi told Kaa. "I have my place back home, and, should I ever return, refusal to take up that place once more will not have pleasant results."
He had sworn, ages ago, to be Zabuza's tool, to do as the older man told him. And now, now that he had to think on his own, to take care of himself and act without order, he knew that he would have trouble returning to his assigned role. And if Zabuza were to grow angry with that? Well, Haku was almost certain that Zabuza had no use for a tool that didn't obey orders.
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“Oh? How do you mean?” he asked in response to her last statement. There, now lets see where this leads to.
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"It's nothing you'd understand," the effeminate boy told Kaa. "But let's just leave it at a refusal to return to my place will result in the forfeit of my life." That was probably far more information than he should have offered, but he wasn't going to not answer Kaa's question. It would have been rude.
Naturally, Haku wasn't certain that that would be the result of his failure to obey, but it was about the best estimate he could verbalize at the moment. There were probably other punishments that he might face. Haku didn't want to think about what they might be.
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The chuckles soon gave way to a brief spout of laughter which did not mach his sarcastic tone from only a second ago. The laughter was almost musical in its strange, whispering way. The tone of the laughter was obviously not mocking or derogatory and Kaa quickly apologized saying “I’m sssorry, I don’t mean to laugh, there’sss no way for you to know anything about me.” He gave a few more chuckles before continuing “I doubt very much that I wouldn’t underssstand. Forgive me, but our sssituation isss probably funnier than either of us realizsse.” He took a deep breath then let out a sigh.
“But we’re not talking about me are we? It would no doubt bore a young girl like you to tearsss. Pleassse, indulge me. Perhaps I can help?” Well, so much for subtlety. At least he hadn’t sounded rude; he hoped he hadn’t sounded rude. He suddenly realized just how much he risked by openly offering help. The slightest misunderstanding could yield terrible results between them. Kaa wanted this new “friendship” to last and grow. It wouldn’t be beneficial to either of them if his words drove them apart.
“But if you don’t feel I can help…” He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
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"Please understand my need and desire for discretion," Haku told Kaa, his voice low. "Where I'm from, information is something to be guarded with one's life, especially when it comes to certain kinds... family secrets, village secrets, training methods, techniques. It's all something that someone else would love to get their hands on for varying purposes, and speaking around it is something I've grown accustomed to over the years."
Haku looked back at Kaa. "When I was young, my family died and following their deaths, I fled the village that I had once called home. Shortly thereafter, a man took me in. He offered me lessons and in exchange, I promised to become his tool, to be his weapon, act upon his order. It was at his request, and being young at the time, I had readily agreed. He taught me a great many things and I often acted as his partner on his missions.
"Before I came here, he and I had been engaged in a fight. I know my state of health, but not his. And since my arrival, I've found a sense of freedom that no tool is meant to find. If he is alive, and our paths were to cross once more, I don't think I could readily go back to being his tool. And I know he has no use for a weapon that thinks so much for itself."
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Kaa quickly reevaluated Haku. Unlike Mowgli when she had claimed to be able to take care of himself, Haku no doubt actually could. He had seriously underestimated her. Although this explained a lot about her, for example, why she was not afraid of him or why she saw the practicality of being above the masses below. She was a weapon and would have obviously seen things war more terrible that a larger than average python.
Kaa reached up with one of his coils and gently gave Haku a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, then promptly returned it to the roof. It was unwise to violate a “weapons’” personal space for to long. He offered her a small, understanding smile.
“My sssympathiesss for all you’ve been through. To be one so young and already a predator but not even your’ own.” Kaa lowered his head and shaking it as he continued to speak. “It ssseemsss asss though you have out grown your’ ssstatusss asss a weapon. Asss a sssnake agesss hisss ssskin becomesss to confining for him, and eventually he isss forced to ssshed it, replacssing it with a new ssskin that fitsss. You have apparently grown to large for your’ ssskin. Perhapsss it isss time to ssshed it?”
He raised his head so that he was looking into Hakus’ eyes, though he did not use his hypnosis. No, this was simply to put emphasis and meaning into his words. He waited for Haku to respond.
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"Where I'm from, it's not uncommon for kids as young as 6, and in some cases younger, to learn how to kill," Haku said softly. "It is... the world I grew up in. There are those younger than I whose hands are stained with the blood of many more."
Haku looked at Kaa oddly as he spoke of shedding skin. He had never considered the possibility that he would outgrow being someone else's tool. "Perhaps you are right."
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He couldn’t explain why but getting Haku to agree with him, to help her release herself from her self imposed servitude, made him feel… …happy, and for reasons unrelated to manipulating her into a friendly alliance. It bothered him a little. Why was he feeling like this? Oh well, he pushed this emotion aside as well.
It seemed to Kaa as though he had successfully formed a friendship with the strange girl. The idea of asking her more about herself crossed his mind but he decided he’d pried too much all ready. After a moment he asked “Ssso you’ve been here a while all ready, would you mind ssshowing me around, or do you want to continue people watching?”
(ooc: new thread or just continue on this one and wander around Muspelheim?)
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"Un," Haku replied. "I've been here for a good while. And I wouldn't mind showing you around." He looked at Kaa for a moment. "I could carry you, if you wanted..."
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He laughed a little when Haku offered to carry him. “Thank you but I wouldn’t want to impossse, I’m quite heavy you know.” After a moments thought he added “And isssn’t it consssidered rude amongssst humansss to make a girl do all the work?” He chuckled a bit more at his last comment. He didn’t really want to ask anything more about her society, afraid of causing her unneeded pain and prying further than he already had, but he just couldn’t resist.
(ooc: cool, do they all ready have a thread going or does one of us need to start one?)
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"I can walk on water," he told the serpent. "I'm sure I could manage. And as for the girl thing..." Another smile. "Usually only works for girls."
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“You new that I thought you were a girl and you let me? Doesssn’t that go againssst much of your’ human culture?” A second later he realized that this was a stupid question, Haku came from a very different part of the world and he’d already established that her-his, violent culture was very different than what Kaa was used to amongst humans.
He let his coils return to the roof, sighing as they went down and giving the impression of a deflating balloon. “Oncsse again I mussst asssk your’ forgivenessss. I’m sssure you have your’ reasssonsss.” Although what they were Kaa could only guess, although the idea that it could be advantageous for a weapon to confuse people did cross his mind though. He gave a small smile. “Well in that case I sssupossse it would be rude of me to reject your’ hossspitality.”
He proceeded to wrap himself around the man-cub, looping most of himself over the shoulders like some sort of snake skin poncho. He wrapped the rest of himself loosely around Hakus’ arms and legs, loosely, so as not to interfere with his movements. He had to adjust himself a few time so that he wouldn’t impede the boy in any way, although a century of habit made it difficult to resist. Soon, he had himself positioned so that his head rose above the boys’ by about a foot, allowing him to look about freely and still speak comfortably with Haku.
“Well then man-cub, hanging in there?” He chuckled at his pathetic pun.
(ooc: great! just e-mail it to me whenever)
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"I would rather that people think I'm a girl," Haku told the serpent. "Then, not only do they underestimate me, but I have an advantage over them in that regard."
Haku smiled. "I'm fine. So, how about that tour, then?"
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Kaa was rather surprised when Haku actually was able to lift him, although he supposed he really shouldn't have been. It felt strange to be worn like an article of clothing or accessory.
"Excsselent! Where ssshall we go?"
(ooc: No worries, I figured it was something like that. Real lifes gotta come first. Sounds good as far as threading partners go, I'm easy. You?)
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