The First Pillar of Heaven

[Ning Ru]

Carelessly treading up the rock in his companion’s stead, the boy took in his surroundings with yet another surge of amazement. Sure, the whole place was impressive at first, but the view from above was simply breath taking. Entranced by the scenery around him, he’d snap back to reality upon hearing someone call his name. Peering back down at Rasshu, the lad stumbled down and headed over before frowning with a bit of disappointment. It appeared as though the man hadn’t heard him the first time when this same oddity had piqued his curiosity originally. “Fueeeee. Ru told you about this already!”

He’d kneel down to point with his paw like sleeves before prodding vigorously at the loosened dirt with several fingers. “Hands! They used hands!” Upon closer inspection, it was quite clear that no tool was used to upheave the earth. Whoever had done so simply didn’t have the luxury of time and had opted for a more primitive route. It could also be said that whoever had done so hadn’t come expecting to excavate whatever used to reside here. Perhaps they too were unsure of what to expect and hadn’t prepared a shovel?

Interest quickly waning in the abnormality he had spotted already, the boy continued to roam about freely while whistling to himself. Finding yet another set of footprints, he’d again follow their steps. The result of this however was less interesting, indicating that several figures had convened together at some point. Given the relatively preserved condition of the tracks, chances were high that the individuals in question had survived the aftermath and moved together to discuss the ramifications left by the event’s wake.

[lash]

"Ah, did you? I'm sorry. I was so caught up with everything that I've seen." Apologizing to the other shinobi came easily to me, which in turn shocked me. I almost never apologized; it was one of my few faults, and one that I recognized easily. Perhaps it was the way that Ru acted, with such simplicity and casualness to everything around him, that made it so easy for me to fall into a habit of being... dare I say, nice? Whatever the case, he pointed out things that I noticed, too. The circle that was dug had been done quickly, but had been done without any equipment. They had carefully extracted every aspect of whatever it was that they had dug, leaving nothing behind for anyone coming later to find.

Standing up, I continued to glance around, noticing Ru was wandering away, following a different set of footprints. If anything interesting happened, I expected him to call out to me, so instead I glanced back up at the rock that reached towards the heavens. What had happened to conjure this thing in a land that was so otherwise barren? The obvious answer was Ninjutsu, but what had been the technique's purpose? I highly doubted that whatever it was that called this rock into being had been able to use it as a defense, but then again, perhaps I couldn't rule such a possibility out.

No matter. The facts laid themselves out clearly before me. A group of people had been in this spot, and were either responsible for the light's creation, or else for its dissipation. A frown crossed upon my face once more, and with a casual movement, I leaped towards the rock once more, climbing to the peak in order to gain another vantage point. Standing at the top, I looked about and listened to see if Ru could find anything else around here.

[Ning Ru]

You know, now that the lad thought about it. The wake of this destruction seemed awfully familiar. Sitting himself down while observing his surroundings, he’d continue to follow the nagging suspicion within him while considering possible causes of the mass annihilation. This focus was maintained at least for a short while, until a butterfly drifted by distantly. Distracting the youth for some time, he’d finally revert his attention before finally standing up with an exclamation.

“Ah ha!” Fist pounding into the other opened hand, he’d take a few steps back before performing a series of jutsu. From what one could tell, he appeared to be testing a variety of techniques from the sound release. With each attempt, he’d shake his head in a dissatisfied manner before attempting another. One by one, he’d slowly narrow down the list via process of elimination before his tests finally came to a halt. The wake of destruction left had oddly reminded him of his own repertoire however it was not a technique he had bothered learning. Convinced that the effect was created by something he had seen before but to a smaller scale (a scream of some sorts), the pieces would slowly fit together within his mind.

Given the boulder sized indentations with no fillings, chances were high that whatever had caused it had already dissipated or lacked substance to begin with. When put into consideration with area’s markings and his knowledge of ototon, only one possibility came to potentially insane lad’s mind. “Ru thinks a giant baby was here…” As asinine as it sounded, the lad was thoroughly convinced that a giant infant had caused this mess by crying down tears capable of smashing men and screaming hysterically till all things nearby had been leveled into nothing but rubble. Though his theory sounded impossible at best, at least it’d explain the large depressions left in the earth and the pattern of destruction. Could Lash provide a better explanation?

[lash]

As I continued looking around from my vantage point, I heard Ru utter an exclamation, and my head immediately swiveled towards there. Taking the boy's cry as a sign that he had discovered something, I would leap from the stone pillar I was standing upon, landing on the ground with a soft thump. As I moved towards the boy, who had become somewhat distant from my starting point, I watched with amusement as the boy's ability to distract himself became evident, as a butterfly floated through on the breeze. By the time that I had arrived at the scene, the boy had returned his focus to the area and spoke his decision.

Caught off guard by the boy's suspicions, instead of answering with my incredulity, I simply began to laugh. Coming deep from within my gullet, the sound would echo through the barren wasteland that this area had become. When my laughter finally ceased, I was wiping tears from my eyes. With that done, I looked over toward's Ru and shook my head.

"A giant baby? That would be impossible. What would the light have had to do with that, unless it was its nightlight?"

Yet still, perhaps it wasn't as strange as one could come to expect. I certainly knew deep within the marrow of my bones that something strange had been here, something that wasn't human. Could a giant baby have been responsible? I didn't think so, but I also couldn't entirely rule the prospect completely out. With a shrug of my shoulders, I'd continue speaking to Ru. "I think we've found out all that we can. Since we haven't been able to find any other solid clues, I think its safe to assume that whatever caused this disaster cleaned up its mess before it vacated. Our only chance now would be to find a direct witness to this incident, which... I'm beginning to think would be highly unlikely.

"Tell me, Ru. Would you like to accompany me back to the village? I dare not be away too long. My reign has only just begun there, you see."

[Ning Ru]

Staring blankly at the man laughing from his extrapolation, he’d tilt his head curiously while seriously contemplating the possibility that perhaps the light was in fact a night light. “Hmmm…” Though the prospect of returning back to that dull village didn’t exactly appeal to the youth, he had found himself growing fond of the man, regardless of his short comings.

Not giving a second thought to the unexplained power shift, nor the lack of a pointy-hat-man, he’d nod meekly while responding. “Okaaaaay…” The man’s reasoning for returning was a bit odd. If he was so concerned about being gone for so long, why leave in the first place? Surely a leader of anything would have underlings to send on trivial tasks such as this right? If not, what exactly was he considered a leader of?

[lash]

Having gleaned what information was available and getting a response out of Ru, I nodded my head. It was time to leave this place behind, for now. But now that I knew where it was... you can bet that I would be watching the sky for signs of the light's return.

[exit]

[Ning Ru]

With little else to say, Ru would take a final look at his surroundings before letting out a sigh. The light had seemed promising but hadn't met the expectations in his mind. If only there was a giant baby. Oh well. And with that, he'd follow Rasshu back to their village.

/exit

[Anmida]

Graded.