Control the Wind [Katsumi|Musou]

[Oda Nobunaga]

The winds were fierce high atop the mountain ranges of Japan, and it seemed they would not let up. The environment within the winds seemed used to it, as if it required the harsh winds to thrive, and support the lush green that grew atop what would otherwise be just mineral.

Katsumi would find herself upon this mountain path completely out of nowhere. She would be attending to her everyday business, and as if she teleported to another land, she would appear here, the scenery changing completely with a single blink. The harsh winds would be enough to push her aside, were she not careful, though she would still find herself capable of moving along this path.

There was no way back from here, just a single road forward, like a road commonly taken by carriage.

"Hello, there, young one."

[Shinomori Katsumi]

In one instance Katsumi saw Haji and when she blinked she found herself... on a mountain??? Eyes widening, the girl's brown hues practically bulged out of their sockets and she took a step back, only to find herself nearly knocked onto her ass by the vigorous wind. It felt almost as though she was in the middle of a storm, and the petite female was worried she'd be blow away.

"W-What the hell?!" she exclaimed. Saying she was scared would be an understatement at the moment.

Despite her hair being pulled back in a high ponytail, the locks whipped in her face and she pushed it away from her face, taking a struggled step forward. She noticed a path, but it only stretched forward, and her brows furrowed deeply.

At hearing a voice, Katsumi gasped, quickly removing her bow from her back and taking out two arrows, and she drew back the bow, searching for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing, she exclaimed nervously, "Where are you? W-Who are you? W... What's going on? Where a-am I?"

[Oda Nobunaga]

The wind itself seemed to manifest into a single faceless body in front of the woman. All she would be able to make out was a smile, and arms outstretched, as if welcoming her to this plain.

"You may know me as Fujin, and you are here because of one simple thing: It seems to me you are one soul capable of harnessing the power you see before you. I wish to test this, and see if it is true, based on what I have observed. I ask that you proceed along this path and complete the tasks that fall before you. May you be blessed by the seven lucky Kami in your endeavor."

The figure of wind would bow respectfully toward her before dissipating. The wind surged toward the path, as if urging her to go forward. It wasn't as though she had much of a choice, considering it was the only way to go, unless she wanted to leap off the mountain.

[OoC: Stats lock in your next post.]

[Shinomori Katsumi]

A figure manifested, a faceless body, and, despite his rather warm welcome and non-intimidating gestures, Katsumi was in full-fledged panic mode. What in the actual fuck was going on?! This was like the stuff in fairy tales. None of it was real! It couldn't be. And yet when she jabbed herself with enough force to leave a bruise on her side and didn't wake up from this dream, her throat became dry. Was this... real? Truly, really... real?

The skeptic listened to his words in disbelief and shook her head slowly as he bowed and dissipated. Her eyes were widened and she stared blankly ahead.

"I... I have to... I have to be dreaming. This... this can't be... real..." she tried convincing herself of such, and yet Katsumi knew better. The girl knew full-well that this was, in fact, real.

Struggling down a gulp, Katsumi inhaled deeply, trying to calm her nerves, and forced herself to move forward. She didn't really have a choice. Whether it was a dream or reality, there was only one path and it went forward, and so she walked on, gripping at her arm and her brows hues glancing about nervously.

She really hoped she didn't regret this...

[[Stats: Strength: 14 (+2) | Dexterity: 25 (+3) | Constitution: 17 (+13) | Wisdom: 17 (+1) | Spirit: 8 (+6)]]

[Oda Nobunaga]

Across the path, Katsumi would find a large house, and it was all the path would lead to. There was no way around it, so it would seem as though this was her goal. She needed to get in there for whatever reason.

The house was surrounded by even fiercer winds than the ones she was walking alongside. Within thirty yards of the building, it seemed like anything that wasn't built into the ground would fly away to their death.

A small orb was floating above the house, as well.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

After walking for a bit, Katsumi came across a house with no way around. It appeared she had to go through it, and yet grass and rocks were flung around it. If Katsumi moved towards it, she would surely be whipped up in the air or killed by the objects spinning around the house.

Trying to find a way in, the archer saw a small orb floating above the house and she furrowed her brows. Unsure of what to do, Katsumi decided to go with the only thing to come to mind and she pulled back her bow, aiming at the orb.

"Might as well try..." she murmured to herself, trying to estimating where to aim so that the arrow would hit its target. Veering it some to the side, Katsumi eventually fired and waited to see what would happen.

[Oda Nobunaga]

The arrow flew through the wind, veering slightly off course. Eventually, it would strike the orb, and for a small moment, the winds died down. Just as quickly, they picked back up, however, whipping everything around even faster now that they previously had. She had the right idea.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

When the arrow hit the orb, the wind died down before quickly picking up again, even faster than before. Her eyes narrowed and she stepped forward, moving within a handful of feet of the gusts, far enough away where she shouldn't get damaged. Removing another arrow, the archer aimed two in a similar manner, pulling back as far as she could to put a lot of force behind it before releasing. If able, Katsumi would immediately after firing break out in a sprint, trying to time it right, and leap forward in an attempt to make it past before the wind picked up again, ending with a roll on the other side.

[Oda Nobunaga]

The arrow would make it through, hitting the orb once again. The wind faltered a second time, and the woman would make it through the barrier successfully. However, before her feet hit the ground, they picked back up, whipping the woman along with them. She would find herself being slammed into a tree, knocking the wind out of her, but it gave her a means of stability instead of flying around the building aimlessly until she died.

Within ten feet of the house, the wind seemed to have no effect.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

She hit the orb again and was able to jump in, but the wind picked back up again and she was lifted in the air. When flung against a tree, the wind was knocked out of Katsumi and she winced, ass hitting the ground. Brows furrowing deeply, she cursed, "Aw fuck!"

There were definitely going to be some bruises later on without a doubt. Her eyes narrowed as she looked back up at the orb. Single shots, even with multiple arrows, didn't seem to give her enough time, but what about a succession of arrows. Using the tree for support so she didn't go flying up, Katsumi picked herself up and removed two arrows from her quiver. Taking aim again, she would fire one shot before waiting for a few moments and firing again, standing in place to see what would happen.

Fortunately she had just made a bunch of new arrows and filled her quiver the day before last...

[Oda Nobunaga]

As the woman rose her bow, she would find her arm being thrown back with the wind, and her hold on it was loosened. It would fly away due to the fierce winds, quickly gaining altitude, but creating a VERY dangerous obstacle in the wind. She would have to think of another way inside, considering she wasn't going to be able to fire anymore arrows.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Katsumi underestimated the gust of the wind and lost her bow, to which her eyes widened sharply.

"S-Shit!"

Not only was her predominant weapon gone, but it was whirling around and had blades. If it hit her, getting bruises would be the least of her worries! Small hands pounded against the ground and she bit her bottom lip. What now?

As her hands fell to her sides, her left brushed against her blade and she glanced down, staring at it. Lips forming in a firm, straight line, Katsumi looked forward and swallowed. She really didn't want to go forward, but... what choice did she have?

Releasing a sigh, Katsumi lowered herself and laid flat on her belly. Inhaling deeply, one hand tightly gripped the grass (is there grass? Idk) and the other pulled out her dagger. Plunging it into the ground, the girl pulled herself up slowly, before repeating the motion again and again, both hands tightly gripping on for dear life as she would work her way towards the house.

She terribly hoped nothing would collide into her with tiny body so low on the ground, especially the blades of her bow...

[Oda Nobunaga]

Katsumi's tactic worked, so far! She was able to close some of the distance between herself and the house, though it would prove to be very difficult because of the strong winds, which would wear her down pretty quickly. As she advanced, she would be able to spot a large tree branch whirling through the air, and unless she moved forward quickly, it would impale her right in the hip!

[Shinomori Katsumi]

The winds were ferocious and Katsumi was afraid that if her body moved even a centimeter off of the ground that she would be whipped away. And so the girl pressed her whole form against the ground, slowly working her way up. Despite having quite a bit of stamina, Katsumi grew weary and took short breaks to catch her breath and rest for a few moments at a time.

When turning her head to the side, she saw a tree limp heading low to the ground and her eyes widened upon realizing it would hit her. Katsumi clenched her teeth and stabbed the ground again, not only pulling herself up a few feet, but she used much of her strength to partially turn on her side and fold her legs against her stomach so they wouldn't get hit, other hand clutching tightly at the blade, grunting and crying out loudly from the pain of the muscles of her arms, holding on for dear life.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Katsumi would be able to tuck her legs in in time, and the tree branch stabbed into the ground with a force that could have killed the girl had it hit her. She would be able to continue, and she would need to do so quickly. She would be able to feel herself getting exhausted, and if she ended up becoming too weary here, the wind would take her forever. Her only chance of survival was to make it to the house.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Katsumi couldn't have felt more relieved when the tree branch missed her, and she released a sigh. But the gusts were still powerful and she needed to move and get out of there, to the house. Extending her legs, the archer began doing what she did before, pushing through the weariness that beckoned for her to let go and let everything go dark for a while. And yet, Katsumi knew that if she did that, that the darkness would last for eternity. And so she continued plunging the knife into the ground, grunting with each time that she brought her body closer, until, hopefully, Katsumi was in the clear.

[Oda Nobunaga]

It would take a while, but Katsumi would finally make it past all the wind! She would be within range of the house, and suddenly it would seem as though it no longer had an effect on her! She could stand easily now. Though, she would be greatly fatigued.

The door to the house swung open in a strong gust of wind that pushed by her, but it would not force her back into the protective barrier around the house. Instead, it felt... warm. Welcoming.

Inside the house, Katusmi would find herself in a large chamber. On either side of the chamber was a staircase that led to a second floor, where there was just one door in the center. On the first floor, there would be a door on either wall to her left and right, and one across the chamber, straight ahead of her.

If Katsumi looked up, she could see a hole in the roof, just under the orb that seemed to be controlling the winds. Directly beneath it would be a pedestal.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

When Katsumi made it, she stopped, panting for a minute or so. The archer felt completely worn out and she flipped on her back, sliding the knife within its sheath. Moving because she had more to do, Katsumi groaned and forced herself up onto her two feet, stumbling a bit. A nap sounded so pleasant right now.

A warm wind blew past her, opening the door and, despite its almost welcoming sensation, she drew her blade again and entered. Her eyes warily searched the large chamber. There were two sets of stairs leading up to a second floor with a door down the center, and three on the first. When walking further inside, Katsumi saw a pedestal and, brows arching up, she peered up and saw, through a hole in the ceiling, the orb that appeared to be controlling the winds.

Upon inhaling, Katsumi would proceed to open all of the doors on the first level. She would step back and lower her hand from its defensive position (unless there was something to fight or be worried about behind those doors, in which case the rest of this is irrelevant.) Exhaustion still wrought her body and the archer without a bow released a sigh, moving towards the pedestal and sheathing her weapon. Kneeling down on it, the woman closed her eyes, resting and thinking where to go next in silence.

[Oda Nobunaga]

The first door Katsmi opened would be the door on the left in the first floor. It sucked her in with a push of wind, and the door would shut behind her. If she tried to open it, it would not budge.

The room was pitch black. There was a draft coming in from the other side of the room, but that was the only hint of movement, besides herself.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

[[Oh, well, excuse me rude door. Just make the rest of my post irrelevant, why dontcha? Haha jk! xD]]

Upon opening the first door on the left, Katsumi was sucked in with a gust of wind and the door slammed behind her. With the room being pitch black, there was nothing to see and so Katsumi tried to open the door, but found it wouldn't budge.

"Damn it...!"

A heavy sigh released from her lips and Katsumi turned around, squinting her eyes. There was little point and so Katsumi concentrated on listening before moving forward. It sounded as though there was a draft on the other side of wherever she was, and the woman pressed her lips together in a firm line. All she could do was go forward, right?

Crouching down, the girl brought one leg out, feeling the ground with her foot, searching for objects or tiles of sorts. If it seemed safe, she would lightly step on the ground and slowly move forward towards the other side.

[[Whether she makes it to the other side or not without interruption is up to the GM. >.>;]]

[Oda Nobunaga]

With each step Katsumi took, the draft would only seem to get stronger and stronger. After a while, it would seem she could walk with ease, as though there was nothing around her. However, it would soon feel like there was no ground in front of her. The path just cut off, but there was nothing else behind her. The draft came from below.b

[Shinomori Katsumi]

It seemed as though the path ended and her foot connected with nothing, and her brows furrowed. There was a drop, and she didn't know how deep it was. Removing an arrow from her quiver, she would drop it and listen.

[Oda Nobunaga]

If she continued to hold her hand out, the arrow would just fly back up into it. It seemed the wind was strong enough that it would blow the lighter objects back up, so she had no real way of telling how deep it was.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

The arrow simply went back into Katsumi's hand, and she scowled. So her only option was to go down, huh? With a small groan of protect, hating this idea but having no other option, Katsumi slid her feet over and would go down, legs first and crouching, so hopefully the landing wouldn't be so damaging.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Katsumi would find the drop was not quite that far, given the wind kept her from falling at speeds that would harm her! At the center of the hole, the only source of light would be a single orb, or rather, a fraction of one. It resembled the orb that was at the top of the house, just a broken version. Somehow, it seemed to be the source of the winds in the room, pulling a small draft in its area.