*laughs* Kami, Drake, that was a bloody brilliant setup.
I salute you.
Oh, and here (mind, I'm down with fever and a headache, so there may be errors):
---
Rolling fields, a shallow valley with what passed for a river squirming its way along its bottom, land off in the distance, just before the treeline, where the livestock would be put out to pasture ... Biigaru Village lay cradled in a bend of the so called river, several bridges leading to its smaller offshot that sat snugly against the outside of the bend's outer bow.
"Not much left," Shikanenai's eyes scanned the ground, catching traces of past movement here and there, the occasional clearer trail as well. "No real struggle after the ox was brought down, though. Looks like whatever did it was either big enough or had enough momentum to take in one pounce."
"Mm," Katsu nodded, standing off to the side. He motioned outwards with one hand, using a kunai to point. "Came from there, I'm guessing. Big paws, good spread, you can barely see any scuffs, much less actual tracks."
"Maaa ... if this were anywhere even close to the border with the Stone, or remotely in that direction," the crouching Leaf-nin mused aloud, not rising from his crouch.
"Their mountain cat summons," Katsu concurred.
"Wrong terrain, wrong direction, wrong ..." 'Nenai shrugged and stood. "And it's too big."
"Besides which," Katsu replaced the kunai in its vest holster. "They wouldn't eat everything, skin, bones ..."
"Well, at least we're closer to finding out what _isn't_ doing it."
"It's a cat," Katsu closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "At the barest basics. That much fits."
"Territorial," Shikanenai added, remembering the rough spread of what the villagers had reported of where the attacks had taken place. The sort of spread that formed as a result _did_ fit. "New territory?"
"Could be. There've been no prior reports of this sort of thing, according to what Neshan dug up from the archives before we left," the Mist expatriate breathed once, deeply, tension leaving his body as his eyes opened again. "A chicken or two missing, then blood in a pen and a pig gone, then an old ox, a few random occurrences in-between, then this."
Shikanenai shook his head slightly at the dismissal of two 'missing' people and one child as a 'random, in-between occurrence', then reconsidered. "Steadily bigger, steadily stronger."
"It's quiet enough to snatch someone in the middle of a village, even if it was night," the paper user continued, bringing what abridged details he'd gotten from the village chief before they'd separated from Kakashi and Neshan to investigate the sites of the attacks while those two would look into the village itself. What was left of those sites, anyway.
"It doesn't have a scent," he heard Katsu add, speaking quietly. Then he fixed Nenai with a brief look. "Trust me on this. And no, you don't want to know."
"Some sort of ... embodied chakra spirit?"
Katsu shook his head. "No. Something physical. That sort of chakra summon would need to feed off chakra, which would leave skin and bones as it forced the prey's body to cannibalize its muscle mass, fat, even some organs."
It was Shikanenai's turn to shoot Katsu a look.
"Ran into some on a mission on the East Continent," Katsu looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Distinctly unpleasant experience ..." he left off with a shrug.
"So, you're saying it's trying to get all the ... mass, it can? Regeneration?"
"Assuming it was injured and chased out of its former territory, not just ... dormant around here. Maybe growth, in that case."
Nenai grimaced. "Too many uncertainties."
"Look on the bright side."
"_You're_ seeing a bright side?" The Nara replied instinctively, then frowned. Katsu _had_ been getting a little less gloomy and moody as they'd made their way from the village, but he'd put it down to the fact that they were moving and too busy to actually pull that sort of thing.
"Mm," Katsu grinned wryly. "At least we're sure it's not the Nibi no Nekomata. Well, unless the villagers are better at hiding an outbreak of sickness and dead men walking."
"And you'd ... smell the stench," Nenai stated rather than asked.
"And I'd smell the stench," nodded Katsu.
---
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm
I salute you.
Oh, and here (mind, I'm down with fever and a headache, so there may be errors):
---
Rolling fields, a shallow valley with what passed for a river squirming its way along its bottom, land off in the distance, just before the treeline, where the livestock would be put out to pasture ... Biigaru Village lay cradled in a bend of the so called river, several bridges leading to its smaller offshot that sat snugly against the outside of the bend's outer bow.
"Not much left," Shikanenai's eyes scanned the ground, catching traces of past movement here and there, the occasional clearer trail as well. "No real struggle after the ox was brought down, though. Looks like whatever did it was either big enough or had enough momentum to take in one pounce."
"Mm," Katsu nodded, standing off to the side. He motioned outwards with one hand, using a kunai to point. "Came from there, I'm guessing. Big paws, good spread, you can barely see any scuffs, much less actual tracks."
"Maaa ... if this were anywhere even close to the border with the Stone, or remotely in that direction," the crouching Leaf-nin mused aloud, not rising from his crouch.
"Their mountain cat summons," Katsu concurred.
"Wrong terrain, wrong direction, wrong ..." 'Nenai shrugged and stood. "And it's too big."
"Besides which," Katsu replaced the kunai in its vest holster. "They wouldn't eat everything, skin, bones ..."
"Well, at least we're closer to finding out what _isn't_ doing it."
"It's a cat," Katsu closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "At the barest basics. That much fits."
"Territorial," Shikanenai added, remembering the rough spread of what the villagers had reported of where the attacks had taken place. The sort of spread that formed as a result _did_ fit. "New territory?"
"Could be. There've been no prior reports of this sort of thing, according to what Neshan dug up from the archives before we left," the Mist expatriate breathed once, deeply, tension leaving his body as his eyes opened again. "A chicken or two missing, then blood in a pen and a pig gone, then an old ox, a few random occurrences in-between, then this."
Shikanenai shook his head slightly at the dismissal of two 'missing' people and one child as a 'random, in-between occurrence', then reconsidered. "Steadily bigger, steadily stronger."
"It's quiet enough to snatch someone in the middle of a village, even if it was night," the paper user continued, bringing what abridged details he'd gotten from the village chief before they'd separated from Kakashi and Neshan to investigate the sites of the attacks while those two would look into the village itself. What was left of those sites, anyway.
"It doesn't have a scent," he heard Katsu add, speaking quietly. Then he fixed Nenai with a brief look. "Trust me on this. And no, you don't want to know."
"Some sort of ... embodied chakra spirit?"
Katsu shook his head. "No. Something physical. That sort of chakra summon would need to feed off chakra, which would leave skin and bones as it forced the prey's body to cannibalize its muscle mass, fat, even some organs."
It was Shikanenai's turn to shoot Katsu a look.
"Ran into some on a mission on the East Continent," Katsu looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Distinctly unpleasant experience ..." he left off with a shrug.
"So, you're saying it's trying to get all the ... mass, it can? Regeneration?"
"Assuming it was injured and chased out of its former territory, not just ... dormant around here. Maybe growth, in that case."
Nenai grimaced. "Too many uncertainties."
"Look on the bright side."
"_You're_ seeing a bright side?" The Nara replied instinctively, then frowned. Katsu _had_ been getting a little less gloomy and moody as they'd made their way from the village, but he'd put it down to the fact that they were moving and too busy to actually pull that sort of thing.
"Mm," Katsu grinned wryly. "At least we're sure it's not the Nibi no Nekomata. Well, unless the villagers are better at hiding an outbreak of sickness and dead men walking."
"And you'd ... smell the stench," Nenai stated rather than asked.
"And I'd smell the stench," nodded Katsu.
---
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm