Distant Stardust [Open]

[stormecho]

Metsuki had always felt an... affinity for the stars and moon. There were simple enough reasons for that. She didn't tend to operate on a solely diurnal schedule, and she liked to try and sleep outside if the night was pleasant, which meant the Inuzuka spent a great deal of time looking at the night sky. Today was no exception - the Land of Fire wasn't known for being cloudy or chilly - and so she was seated on a bench in one of the many parks in Konoha, green eyes fixed on the starry expanse above her. Her partner had little interest in anything that wasn't tangible - be it stars, whimsical fancies or even simple concepts, and thus the half-wolf was spending her time in a far more valuable way: chasing squirrels.

This wasn't a hunt, really. Whenever Ao decided to dash past, Metsuki could tell from her stride that she wasn't going fast enough to actually catch any of her prey. The dog was doing it for fun, and as there weren't many opportunities for Ao to have fun, Met was more than happy to let her do so. Besides, few park-goers stayed this late, though she had the excuse that she was walking her dog. The moon was still relatively low in the sky, but eventually enough time would pass that her excuse would falter. The path her thoughts took made her frown, looking away from the familiar sky above her.

So what if she didn't want to go home? That was... understandable, wasn't it? Her clan didn't like Ao. She had grown up in the clan, she was used to the cohesion of a pack. She didn't like being on her own like this, but... it was better than the contempt and the pity - she couldn't stand being looked at like that. Sighing, she turned her gaze back to the sky. Why were things so complicated?

[reza]

The sun had fallen behind the horizon long ago. Reza had watched it. She sometimes enjoyed the short span of time during which colors danced slowly on the clouds and in the sky. Rarely did she do this, and, for today, she would rest a while. There were not many things to do while resting, and it was especially boring when all one did was train all the time. Since she was away from home much much more than not, that only added to the pile.

Reza had managed to find herself a good place with soft grass to lay or about on. She threw sticks for Itomaru to fetch a few times, which became harder to find as the sun set. So they mainly just laid there. Itomaru cuddled up against Reza. Sometimes she hated that Itomaru would never leave her side; that he would never go back home to sleep. It wasn't his burden after all. Merely thinking about her parents angered her. She frowned, eyebrows slanting in. She still couldn't understand..

It wasn't long before she heard hurried footsteps. Rezas head rose, nose up, and sniffed at the air. Another Inuzuka member was nearby. She was too far to identify who, though. "Come on, Itomaru." she said quietly. The little yellow dog promptly got to his paws and followed after his master. It did not take the two long to find out who it was. Metsuki Inuzuka. Another Inuzuka with problems, similarly different from Reza's own. Reza may not have spent long hours at her home but she knew what went on at least. It was part of a ninjas job at times to be able to collect information.

While the other members of the clan were wary of her partner's blood mix, Reza was actually mildly jealous of the girl. Aomidori was already a powerful animal, and would definitely become much stronger with age. Not to say that she would ever give up Itomaru. She wouldn't give up her dog for her life. Reza stepped from the shadows and began toward Metsuki. She was nowhere near being afraid of Aomidori like the rest of the clan.

"Metsuki," she began and hesitated. It wasn't too often that she spoke with anyone, even her own clan members. "May I sit with you..?" Itomaru had already figured that Reza would stay for a little while and wandered away a little to find Ao to play.

[stormecho]

Aomidori stopped in her enthusiastic chase, head tilting to one side and fur rising on her shoulders and back, which was enough for Metsuki to stiffen and sniff the air as well. She had long since learned that though Ao tended to dislike or, at the best, tolerate everyone, she only was put on alert by a few, and most of those were Inuzuka clanmembers. However, the scent wasn't one she recognized as her parents or close family, and those were the most likely to search for her, so she didn't move away just yet. Ao, tail lifting in a wolf-like display of dominance, stalked over to the bench, standing just in front of it as if she was guarding her partner. Which she was - it hadn't taken long for Met to stop being bullied in the Academy, not when she had such a fierce protector shadowing her every waking moment of the day.

The one approaching revealed itself to be a girl and her partner, looking to be her age. Head tilting to one side, she eventually identified the ninja as Reza Inuzuka, not someone she had seen around the clan compound or heard much of, other than that she was different than the other clanmembers - and even that not said often, not when Met herself was around. She had found that it was easier to ignore everyone and avoid them than to try and fit in, not when no one would be happy with such an action. So she avoided the clan and they generally avoided her unless suddenly feeling responsible for her welfare.

Still, Reza had done nothing to harm her, and she let her approach, nudging Ao with her foot when the half-wolf began to growl softly, ears laying back. "Hush," she ordered, glance flicking back up to Reza as she spoke. The question wasn't something she could really say no to - 'No, I'm planning on sleeping here,' was not exactly a polite way of answering. Besides, the night was still fairly young. Nodding a greeting towards Itomaru, she managed a hesitant smile. "Go ahead. How are you and Itomaru?" she said breezily, trying to hide her tension and forcing down the sudden urge to bolt. With another person nearby, the park suddenly seemed somewhat cramped, rather than a comfortable, open space. To ignore her sudden edginess, she turned her attention to Ao, who had finally deigned to approach and sniff Itomaru carefully. Thankfully, Ao was more tolerant of puppies, so there was little to worry about.

[reza]

Instead of doing as she had asked, Reza remained standing. She made sure not to be too close since she could sense Metsukis awkwardness toward her. The girl didn't even know what she was doing. Normally she wouldn't even dream of being this social with anyone but Itomaru. But, for some reason she was somewhat compelled to talk to Metsuki. She knew that, like herself, she was somewhat of an outcast from the Inuzuka clan. And it wasn't even her fault - nobody's really. Only because of the unwelcome heritage of her partner. No one could have predicted that that would happen, and by the time they'd realized, Metsuki was already so attached to Ao.. The world seemed unfair, especially for ninjas; even ninjas-in-training.

At this point, Reza had great urge to just leave the other Inuzuka be and walk away. Her muscles tensed a little. She was very awkward around people. In fact, most times she hated being around anyone, Itomaru excluded. It was a big world. "Fine.." she managed to mutter, then sighed. "How are you and Ao?" Itomaru's tail wagged rhythmically. He wasn't the type of dog that would be unfriendly to most anyone unless given a reason. He sniffed the half-wolf back, ears and eyes on her.

[stormecho]

Metsuki blinked as the question was fired back at her, though really, it was only polite for Reza to have asked about their health as well. "We're... fine," she answered lamely. "Just out to take a walk and look at the stars." There was no need to inform her that they weren't planning on returning home - she had no idea what Reza thought of... everything. She didn't even really know what she thought of it. She could never give Ao up, but... she didn't want to change. It made sense to be afraid of that. She hadn't hated tight spaces before, but suddenly she couldn't stand them, which had been enough to make her uneasy. Would she become a different person, in the end?

Suddenly aware that she had been silent for a bit too long, she stated quietly, "It's a nice night." Which it was, but there really had been no need to say the obvious. She was stalling, really. Did Reza want to talk about anything important, or was this just supposed to be social interaction? For once, Ao seemed to be doing a better job than her - her tail wagging slowly, she acknowledged Itomaru and wasn't even bothering to growl at him, though she did look a trace haughty and superior, being larger and older.