The Vastwood | Rabbits

[LavenderandVelvet]

‘ I AM your Sage, I AM your Champion. ‘


The clone stood up with its arms open, absorbing all the natural chakra in the immediate area. It seemed the fear of possible petrification was gone and all that was standing there was a Sage looking to gain the trust of the animals around them. Sheva had nothing to hide as she FULLY trusted the creatures that now sat in her company. As the clone began to fully accept the natural chakra, something began to appear in the entrance of the hollow. The natural chakra seemed to weigh heavier as the older rabbit appeared in the entrance. The clone let their arms down and just gazed upon the elder of this clan “ I told you that I would come back for this clan, I have returned stronger and with a deeper sense of purpose. “

Gran-Gran nodded and looked at the clone, though just a clone; Gran sense that the words that were spoken were true and Sheva was different then the last time that she was there. The absorption of the natural chakra never ceased, the clone seemed used to the heaviness of the energies. The clone got down onto one knee and looked at the elder of this rabbit clan, Sheva wanted more then anything to ally herself with this clan and to be accepted into it “ Please, I want to be your champion. “ Gran looked around and nodded.

” It’s been a long time sense there was someone worthy of this clan. “ Gran gran nodded and the clone smiled “ But tell Sheva that if she wants to talk again... it better not be a clone. “ Gran-Gran took her walking stick and knocked the clone aside the head; the clone popped like a ballon but the deal was sealed

[[ 5 / 5 Natural Training complete. ‘Sheva the Sage of Rabbits’ title obtained! ]]

 

[ghostfinch]

It was hard to tell if the fixation was based on dreams, memories, or something else entirely. Still, he was tired of waking up in a cold sweat after failing to chase down a rabbit. Prey moved quicker than he did. His journey to the Vastwood was a sobering one, where he spent much of it questioning himself and whether or not this was just a very stupid mistake of his.

Then the trees cleared. The fog remained, teasing at his ankles as he stood before the burrow. A bunny in tight clothes appeared before him in a flash. He was taken aback, but he didn't outwardly react. He waited, feeling the moment hang in the balance between them. She was clearly evaluating him.

He had no idea what she saw.

Her nose twitched. Then, she gestured to the burrow. "We've been waiting." He wasn't sure he should feel surprised or relieved. He didn't feel either way about it. Maybe his dreams hadn't been entirely fictional. He wasn't much a sleepwalker - or was he? - but he had a weird feeling that he'd actually been here before. Could he have made this trek in his sleep and made it back home just fine?

"Sorry," he said instead.

Her eyes narrowed, but if she was bothered by his insincerity, she held her peace about it. "Follow." She was off in a flash, and he lurched into motion to keep up with her. He slid into the rabbit hole, following her down even though he could barely see the flash of pink of her toe beans as she travelled at a wicked speed. It felt like they were following twists and turns in the tunnels for hours, but surely it had only been a minute. He ended up in a large underground clearing.

She was gone. He looked around just once for her before deciding it was irrelevant now. Nothing he could do about it. In a blink, a small two-foot tall rabbit appeared before him. "You are awake." Her observation would have sounded surprised from anyone else, but she seemed to state it like one would describe the weather.

She sounded like she expected this. She spoke slowly, like an elder. "You are able to finish what you started." Yoshi's head cocked to the side at that. He had no idea what he had started. He only knew that he felt weirdly at home here, but he was positive he hadn't really seen it before. No odd memories were being unburied by standing in the tunnel. Still, he couldn't shake a strange familiarity in his bones. He was really concerned about his dreams.

His silence must have spoken volumes because her stature settled in, but she didn't answer his unspoken question. The two of them waited for each other for many heartbeats before Yoshinobu broke the silence with only slight exasperation. "What?"

"You have come back to us. Your mind aches. Your heart knows. Your soul wanders. Bleed for us here. And we will follow you as you remember." He didn't know how she knew so much. It was vague, everything she slowly explained, but he also knew it was very much about him. He exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Thank you."

The scroll appeared between them. There were previous signers, but the blood had stained an unusual color. He imagined, then, that those signers had long since passed for one reason or another. He bit his thumb until a bulb of blood appeared. He put his thumb to the scroll and it moved without any thought, without his conscious intent.

He pulled back to inspect his seal, but all it said was Yoshi. He had no idea where that came from or why he left it there. However, the sage rabbit seemed to expect this and inclined her head. "Yoshi. You are here with us now. But you are not yet ready. I understand. You will get there. Do not punish yourself."

"You're rejecting my signature?"

"No. But you are not ready."

"I am," he insisted feverishly. He gestured angrily at her insistence. "I am ready for all of it. Teach me. I will learn." He hadn't been so animated since before... since...

He sat down crossed legged. He steepled his fingers, then pointed the tip of them to her. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. "I can handle all of it; I'm ready." He reached out with his mind's eye. He visualized the nature chakra that filled the burrow.

"You cannot rush these things." Her wisdom went ignored, though he knew she was there. He was cognizant of the position of all of the rabbits. Their footsteps throughout the Vastwood echoed in his ears. His heartbeat matched their rapid pitter-patter steps.

The nature chakra came quickly. He didn't know how to filter it. It filled him, he felt the way it forced his limbs to stiffen. They felt leaden, even though he wasn't moving. He felt stuck. He was trapped. The prey part of his brain threw him into a panic attack. His heart was faster than the footsteps of the rabbits, he was outracing them. He was running while standing still.

Wisps of wind kicked up around him as he continued to absorb nature chakra. He saw it. His heart was racing like it'd been when he was kidnapped. He fought his traffickers tooth and nail. He scrapped their skin under his fingernails. The Miyamoto did not often fight. He wasn't equipped for this sneak attack. He pulled a kunai that got knocked out of his hand. The force of it sprained his wrist. His heart raced. He screamed out. No one was out in the streets in Arashigakure where he was. He couldn't move. They held his arms behind his back, tied a chakra-infused rope around them. It burned. It was abrasive. He screamed out. No one was around. He couldn't move. He kicked his legs out. He knocked the front teeth out in one of the folks grabbing at him. A paper was stuck on his lower back from the one tying his hands together; a seal must have been on it, because he felt chakra brand itself into him. He couldn't move.

Gran-Gran moved forward, putting her paws on each side of his temple. She put her forehead to his, now that his sitting form was at her height. "Settle. You have bleed for us. We are your family. We will never let you be trapped." Her words washed over him, her guidance filtered the nature chakra that filled his form. To move unobstructed, this was the Way of the Rabbit. He gasped as its knowledge filled him, as the nature chakra settled in his body and empowered him.

Gran-Gran pulled from him, but worry settled on her expression. He felt empowered to move, but sometimes people took that too far; it wouldn't help him to try to outrun his problems just because he was fast. These things needed to be faced head on. He needed time to work through what happened so that he could properly move forward. "We run. We do not run." Her sage advice hung in the air between them, but he rose to his feet without acknowledgement.

"I'll see him out." Flopsy followed him as he head out of the tunnel. The two of them actually ran, but this time, he kept pace with her.