Prelude to Whatever (Open Thread)

by **Bastian** Mon Sep 05, 2016 9:53 am

The village had originally been built around a natural oasis, one of the few facts Bastian learned after moving to the village. In order to properly expand the size of the village, numerous man-made oasis were littered throughout the territory. This was mostly to make life easier inside the unforgiving deserts around the village. It was one of these man-made oases that Bastian had chosen to come to.

Located about a mile away from the Wind Daimyo HQ, this particular oasis was one of the quieter ones. This was mostly in due part to the fact that less citizens stayed in this part of the village. The oasis it self was typically a favorite haunt for fishermen seeking quiet, today it was deserted save for a few lizards and birds. This was mostly because to the fact that it was in the middle of the day. Thus Bastian's reason for coming to this particular oasis, to avoid prying eyes.

The oasis itself was comparable to a small lake, its waters slightly brown due to mixture of sand in it. Despite the appearance, the surrounding sand served as a filter which in turn made the water clean. In the center of the oasis was a rather large boulder, large enough for several people to stand on it without issue. On it was carved numerous names, a sort of tradition the young graduating academy students started prior to Bastian's arrival in the Hariken. Hence the nickname "Academy Rock", as there were very few shinobi from Hariken that hadn't signed the boulder.

Sabure walked to the edge of the oasis, his long black braid swaying in the gentle breeze. His mind was on only one thing and that was how he would explain years worth of absence to his old friend. Her reaction to his arrival was one he expected, likely even deserved, but he was hardly to blame for it. It was his mother's honorable sacrifice for her son that brought all this on.All in search of a new life. Nevertheless, his friend deserved some form of explanation. Had it been anyone else, Bastian would have shrugged it off and went on about his business. However there was no way the young man could treat those close to him like that. More so he could finally vent to someone he trusted, the young shinobi definitely needed one.

"Geez, I'm starting to sound like a wimp," he muttered under his breath. It was almost instinctively that Bastian reached in to his pocket and pulled out a semi-crumbled half smoked joint. Seeing the condition of his joint made the young man frown as he assessed the damage. "No breaks at least," he said as he brought the joint to his lips with his left hand. His right went for his pocket again, this time for a match. Unfortunately there was none much to the dismay of the young man. "Fantastic, how could this day get any better," he stated sarcastically, the joint between his lips flopping with each word spoken.

WC: 515