[OPEN] Mission 156

[soul_mods]

Characters: Open to participants who signed up here.
Location: Lake Tahoe, CA
Rating: Various.
Time: March 27th, late morning.
Description: The second of the three Madness emitters outside Death City is the target for this mission. Bundle up, everyone -- it's gonna be a cold one.

The mission begins late in the morning, to allow the mission-goers as much sunlight as possible in the warmest part of the day. Not that it'll help much… Temperatures are well below freezing already -- unnatural even for early Spring in the mountains -- and a howling snowstorm threatens to blot out the sun, beginning up the mountain where the slope just begins to rise sharply.

The slopes themselves are fairly barren: a windswept-looking tree here, a cabin that may have once belonged to the snow patrol there, maybe a Madness-crazed bear or mountain lion. Those braving the storm are lucky enough to see five feet in front of their face in these conditions!

Those brave few who manage to make it to the top (enduring falling temperatures and defeating the corrupted fauna and hulking kishin yeti along the way) may come across their goal at the very summit of the half-mile-high mountain: the Madness emitter itself, in the eye of the storm… And one last obstacle: the Witch guarding it.



OOC NOTES.
- The event summary post containing all relevant links is located here.
- Make your own threads, but please indicate in your subject line [CHARACTER(S) | LOCATION | OPEN/CLOSED]
- If you have any further questions, the mod thread on the coordination post is here!

Comments

[Neji/Lee | Up the mountain | closed]

[heavenly_earth]

For all that he hated the desert heat sometimes, Neji was beginning to think that he preferred it over the chilling cold seeping through his coat and the flakes of snow and ice stinging his eyes. He had goggles, but they were uncomfortable at best, pinching the veins that rose on the sides of his face as he activated Clairvoyance.

Neji swept the area with his Meister ability, constantly alert for threats because he needed all the warning he could get to have time to discard the snowshoes for combat situations. Turning away from a suffocating wind, Neji squeezed his eyes shut, blinking with exaggerated motions, and raised gloved fingers to massage his temples.

"When you start getting even slightly tired, Lee, transform and I'll carry you. We don't need to waste energy here."

[awokentospring]

Lee hated cold weather but he had some advantage over Neji; his hot-bloodedness was more than just a joke. Lee's constant physical exertion kept him rather toasty. His skin practically radiated heat, though he still needed a jacket and other protective gear in the extreme weather found on the mountain. He hated how the thickness of the winter wear limited his movements. If anything, the lack of ability to run at high speeds made him more nervous than possibly running into a dangerous witch if they weren't careful. Not that he was fearful of the witch herself as much as he feared what could happen if Neji was put up against such a foe again after his previous ordeal.

The taijutsu specialist was confident in Neji's ability to keep watch over the area. Instead, Lee watched his Meister for any cracks in his expression that might give away what he was seeing. So far they had been obstacle free but the day was still young. Lee witnessed Neji reach up and rub at his area where the veins protruded from his temples. Lee's own skin was bitingly cold from the wind; he could only imagine how chilly it was making the Hyuuga's blood with the veins so exposed.

"O-oh! Yes, I will do that before I get tired!" Lee blinked behind the goggles, his thoughts having been centered so strongly on his teammate's expression the words didn't quite compute at first. It was troubling him to see Neji uncomfortable. Moreso than usual lately. He chalked it up to himself having been the cause of discomfort for his Meister on their previous mission. It was a logical conclusion, after all.

Instead of standing there useless Lee decided he needed to take action! Moving to stand before Neji, he removed his gloves and stuff them in his pockets. The cold air hit his hands like knives but the young green beast had dealt with pain enough that it hardly phased him.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji spared a moment to be envious of the Weapons that could just transform, rather than needing to manually trudge up the mountain themselves, and idly wondered if they were any warmer that way. But it was a useless thought, and if there was absolutely anything he was on the lookout for in particular, it was the Witch said to be somewhere on the mountain. He wouldn't admit it, but the thought of facing another one left shivers running down his back that had little to do with the cold.

But Lee was in front of him when he opened his eyes and actually focused on what his peripheral could see, and jerked back as a strong wind on his back tried to shove him forward. He watched as his teammate shed his gloves.

"You should keep them on," he observed with a frown, raising his eyes to Lee's flushed face that looked warmer than he felt. His own fingers were already beginning to numb even with gloves, and he flexed them to keep them from stiffening too much.

[awokentospring]

Lee half-smiled as he reached up to steady his partner, first placing his hands on his shoulders then moving them up to Neji's face slowly.

"I will be fine for a moment, just let me...." Lee's voice trailed off as he lightly touched his fingertips to the other ninja's temples. Brows furrowing in concentration, Lee tried to lightly rub warmth back into Neji's blood vessels, careful not to be too forceful. He didn't want to bruise his partner more than he already had in the recent past.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji's throat made a soft sound somewhere between surprise and half-considered protest. But Lee's hands were blessedly warm against his skin, and he let them slide up until it became apparent what he was doing. Then the veins keeping Clairvoyance active instantly fled before his teammate's fingertips could reach them, and Neji blinked again as the world was thrown into black and green contrast with a snowy backdrop.

"It's a countermeasure," he said involuntarily to keep the wind from being the only thing to break the silence between them. "Cold weather makes the skin tighten, forcing chakra to run thinner to avoid bursting blood vessels. I suppose it's not really necessary here, but I'd rather prevent any issues. I'd likely still suffer headaches, at least."

[awokentospring]

Lee was almost a little disappointed that he didn't get to feel the veins that stuck out along the edges of Neji's eyes. The Byakugan had always intrigued Lee on a physical level; if he were allowed to say, he might even have considered the extreme change in the Hyuuga's face to be rather handsome in its odd way of pulling at the skin. And besides, anything that increased someone's strength was sexy on a base level in Lee's opinion, but that was neither here nor there. The important thing was that Neji wasn't going to be in discomfort if Lee could help it. So far, it seemed to be working.

Lee hummed in understanding. "It is the same for muscles," he said, keeping his touch light as he continued to massage the skin. "They tighten in cold weather and make training and movement much more difficult than normal. I was under the impression you were getting a headache already."

Lee often rubbed his own temples when he felt a headache coming on. Usually it helped, along with one of Gai-sensei's home brewed medicines. Lee wondered if maybe he should make some when he got home, just to be on the safe side.

[heavenly_earth]

Right, of course Lee knew. Though it was only slightly different because bursting veins on the side of his head was actually a legitimate possibility with too violent of an activation in the wrong conditions.

Still, the bit of conversation did it's part in staving off awkward silence. Though as Lee's warm fingers massaged over his temples and he felt his eyelashes brush against his partner's thumbs as his gaze swept down, the encroaching awkwardness left him swallowing and fishing for something else to say.

"We're making progress, and I haven't detected any sign of the Witch. There are signs of savage wildlife however, so I'm certain we won't be left in peace for too much longer."

[awokentospring]

Lee was immune to awkwardness on such a subtle level, and even more overt awkwardness no longer bothered him for the most part. Came part and parcel when you were often the butt-end of jokes for a great deal of your childhood and people were constantly calling you out on your own failings. Some people broke leaving them hyper-sensitive to that sort of thing, but Lee had denied his tormentors satisfaction and, along with Gai's support, he had managed to block out a great deal. In this case, however, it might have been better if he had noticed the shift between him and his partner.

Oh well. The mission went on. And Lee's hands were starting to get a little cold at last.

Pulling his hands away, Lee reached back into his pockets to retrieve his gloves. "I am not afraid of anything that comes our way. I have confidence this mission will be a success!"

He pulled on the bright orange gloves and almost immediately felt his fingers recharging their warmth. It wouldn't be long before they were back to feeling toasty, though he wondered if the transformation into his weapon form would nullify the need for warmth or not.

[heavenly_earth]

Where Lee was oblivious, Neji was acutely aware of himself and the things around him. More specifically, the people around him and their perceptions and expectations. There might've been no one to watch, but he was still conscious of the weight of those expectations.

So Neji straightened with a nod and took a step back, looking around and feigning another sweep of their immediate surroundings he already had a mental layout of. But there was very little to be seen with regular vision, and he was grateful that they had Clairvoyance to avoid being surprised by anything. Veins slid back to his eyes and opened the world back up to him as he sweeping over snow fields, trees, and abandoned buildings to catalogue the nearest threats.

Sucking in a cold breath, Neji forgot all about the pervading self-consciousness, and hopes instead that Lee's confidence was more than sheer optimism.

"A corrupted soul, roughly 450 meters northeast, stationary for the moment. Two wolves heading down the slope at 300 meters and closing."

[awokentospring]

Duty called. Lee's face drew into a neutral look of determination. Neji was already scoping out the surroundings again, and judging from his stance they were not as in the clear as they had been minutes before.

"Understood. We should take out the wolves directly." Before they could get further down and disturb the medic area, or reach any other teams. They could worry about the corrupted soul after the first obstacles were taking care of.

Lee reached out his hand to his partner. "Shall we begin, then, Neji?"

[heavenly_earth]

Neji affirmed this with a nod, and reached out for Lee's hand, grasping it with his own. He kept steady eyes on the incoming wolves, waiting and watching for the moment either of them would pick up on their scent and veer toward them.

"Take it easy on them, Lee. We'll need everything for the Kishin Egg ahead. Judging by the way it's built, it won't go down easily."

[awokentospring]

Lee grasped Neji's hand back with full confidence before letting himself slid into the transition from human to Weapon. The transformation, as always, was disorienting at first, especially when augmented by Neji's Clairvoyance. But he was slowly growing more used to the sensations. He almost welcomed them, like some sort of rush.

"Then I shall hold back for as long as possible! Let us beat them out with speed and precision!" That was the best defense against Lee's own handicap as well. If they could move fast enough and strike the weak points of the maddened creatures then he wouldn't even have to use his ability to take them down. And, hopefully, that would be enough.

Lee could see them now, all the enemies Neji's power had managed to pinpoint. Even that Kishin...

Damn, that's huge. The thought was pulled unbidden through their resonance, along with Lee's realistic view of the situation. This was not going to be easy. He wasn't going to give up, but this was not going to be easy.

"Let us do our best, Neji."

[heavenly_earth]

Focused on the inbound wolves, Neji reached down and unstrapped his snowshoes, ignoring the way his feet sunk into cold he felt even through his boots.

He could see them without Clairvoyance now, and watched them, waiting, analyzing, pinpointing vulnerabilities, and swung Lee in preparation of the fight. His vision expanded as they drew close and he drove forward, splintered into 360 degrees that would allow him to see everything that came.

Legs, underbelly if they rear up, jaw