A starry night's sky

The sun was setting already, casting it's last few rays across the evening sky as it slowly sunk beneath the horizon. The vibrant array of pinks, yellows, oranges, purples and darker blues colored the sky in a manner that'd nearly rival a rainbow, with barely a single cloud in the sky to obscure the scene. At the far end of the sky, well away from the descending sun, a few of the stars were just now beginning to appear in the night's sky. These twinkling little beacons glistened and shone dimly in comparison to the light of the sun, and they found themselves being still strongly outshone by the sun's glow.

It was late afternoon, nearly night as Seresana walked the longer route back to her house. She'd purposely took a long route that ran by one of the streams that ran nearby. While it wasn't exactly a well worn path, Seresana still rather enjoyed the walk as it brought her past a chunk of the woods and the stream. Seresana turned her head to the left, to actually take a look at the running water so close. It was mostly clear, though it'd caught a lot of the sun's passing glare and obscured most of what was beneath the surface. Then Seresana turned her gaze towards the forest on her right. The tall trees shielding the underbrush and foliage from the sun's light, though by this point it was passing the point of shade and turning into actual darkness now. Seresana's eyes could still pierce a ways into the darkened woods, but they weren't horribly adjusted to the dimmer light just yet, and so she found her vision cut off past a certain point.

With a content smile on her face, Seresana turned her attention back to the path ahead of her. The worn and somewhat walked path was a mix of patches of dirt and grass, on something of an embankment overlooking the stream to the left and below. Seresana herself was dressed in her normal outfit, the shorter lightweight girl sported just some common but old fashioned wooden sandals that gave her just a little extra height, but not that much. Past that there were her plain black pants, the normally loose cloth was a little big on the small girl, but it held it's place well thanks to some straps that bound the fabric tightly to her. There was one at the waist, another above the knee on her left leg and a third on the right leg below the knee. Then there was her white shirt, in a similar state of the pants as it was a bit big for tiny Seresana and bound tightly to her form by additional cloth ties. There was one around her lower stomach and another at her chest, and finally a last one that bound the short sleeve on her right arm. Seresana's left arm was bound by a thick wrap of bandages reaching from the top of her arm, or at least past what the shirt obscured, and reached all the way down to her palm. Her short rather dark hair lightly bounced with her step, and Seresana's vibrantly bright emerald green eyes flicked from the stream, to the woods, to the sky as she hummed a little tune quietly to herself.

Word Count: 555

The sun was setting. The sight was beautiful, but what was better in Sylvan's opinion, was the temperature. As the sun set, the air would become cool. The streams would be icy, and the shadows long. There was a wondrous, frigid poetry about it that absolutely delighted her.
For this outing, Sylvan had grabbed some faded brought pants the color and rough pattern of tree bark, and a shirt of the same fabric and design. Over that she had her jacket, perpetually green from grass stains. She had her weapons with her, as was her paranoid custom. Her finger nail shards secured in the pockets of her jacket, ready for her hands to slip into a moment's notice. On her right and left thigh, pouches for Kunai, and a packet of shurikens at her rear. Paranoid perhaps, but not overly threatening. Besides, getting eaten alive by bears was an embarrassing experience, form what she'd heard. Sylvan had no wish to experience it herself.
Currently she was perched up in an oak tree next to the stream, her legs swinging out over the water. She could easily make it to the other side if need be, but for now she was enjoying the cool branches and the bark beneath her skin. Until she begins thinking, that is.
'I'm not crazy. Of course you're I'm not, you're I'm just misunderstood. No, not like that,I'm not crazy. You I deny this everyday, would would almost think you're I'm trying to convince yourself myself. Shut Up! Crazy! Shut up. Afraid. Silence! Full of yourself. ... ... That one I can live with. I suspected as much.' Sylvan wasn't sure why she argued with herself like this. It really didn't make sense, she knew she was sane. An insane person surely wouldn't have gotten as far as she had, right? They had tests for that sort of thing, and she had faith in her teachers. that being said, if she was insane, she hoped they wouldn't notice it until she was powerful enough to escape them. If she ever became that powerful, of course. So far, the only thing she had gotten working was the Mind Body Swap, and that was hardly special. Well, within her clan it was hardly special. No one to the best of her knowledge outside the clan had these abilities, and there would be serious trouble if they did. After all, those were clan secrets.' Being chased by me clan would not be fun. I should try to maintain my sanity. I do not think Father would withdraw his love, but I'm not really sure. How does one go about discovering such a thing without going through with it? I'm not crazy. How can you go through with it if you don't know the answer? Do you just have to not care? That seems foolish to me. I need more data. I'm not crazy.' These thought wars were an annoyance she constantly dealt with. She was not crazy, everyone dealt with these. Right? Right. She wasn't crazy.
Lost deep in her thoughts, Sylvan doesn't notice Seresana until she's at the stream. Quickly rising to her feat, she calls down. "Seresana! Up here!"
{529 Words}

Seresana had been lost in her own thoughts as she'd been walking down the street. Enough so that when she heard her name called out, she jumped a little before looking up curiously. It took her a moment to distinguish one of her classmates from the surrounding foliage. "Oh, hi Sylvan," Seresana called back as she waved to the other girl. Then she abruptly turned towards the tree that the other girl was up and ran over to it's trunk where a couple other lower hanging branches could be found. A quick jump and Seresana was in the tree, but not quite to the level that Sylvan was at, so she went about another jump, and then a third so that she was on a nearby branch that held the lighter girl easily so far above the ground. Seresana walked out the length of the tree limb a little, holding her arms out to the sides to help with her balance as she strode over the uneven surface.

When she was nearly to the point where Sylvan was, she stopped and slowly began to lower herself to the branch itself. "Hey Syl, you know you can just call me Sere or Sana for short," Seresana said as her knees bent slowly. When her knees wouldn't lower her any further, Seresana swung her left foot out from under her and let it dangle over the edge of the branch before shifting her weight to that side and then swung out her right foot the same way. With both her legs hanging off the branch, Seresana began to swing her legs back and forth happily while beginning to speak again. "I was just on my way back home after a busy day, what are you up to up here?" she asked as she continued to sit there, until her legs swung out just a little too far and Seresana felt herself falling backwards. This however was done on purpose as her legs bent more to hook around the branch so she was hanging upside down while waiting for Sylvan's reply. "Oh wow, you've got a really good view up here. Is that why you were up here, to have a good view?" As she hung there upside down, Seresana continued to swing lightly, though she remained mindful of how her legs were hooked about the branch as she didn't want to accidentally fall off it. And when her swinging slowed down a bit, she let go with her hand, letting them hang lazily aside her head.

Word Count: 425
Total: 980

Sylvan grins as she sees Seresana notice her. She had almost called out 'notice me sena!' but that would've been a bit more silly than she was feeling at the moment. Still, she laughs happily as she watches Seresana clamber up the Her clambering was akin to that of a monkey, and greatly amused Sylvan. The tree itself was tall and mighty, one of Sylvan's favorites. She loved this forest quite dearly, for it had been her friend since she could first set foot in it. A dangerous friend that made her smell bad and occasionally get sick, for sure. But it was a dear friend regardless and besides, if she were honest with herself, Sylvan would have it no other way. As much as she loved her clan, her parents, her cousins, and other relatives, the place of their dwelling was not her home. Her home was this glorious forest. Its tall trees of many types, its earthy smells, and its wonderful creatures. From snakes to mice, foxes to owls, she loved every inch of this place. Perhaps she would share this wondrous place with Seresana. The girl made her smile, which put her as an oddity among the students. Occasionally one of their failed jokes would crack an unwilling smile, but with Seresana it was different. She wanted to smile, and found she could. It was a nice feeling. The fact that the girl seemed to free her up from those horrific clashes within her mind was nice as well. She whadn't really met Seresana yet though. Perhaps now she could fix that.

Sylvan smiles as Seresana comes to rest next to her, nodding approvingly at the deft manner in which she came to be hanging upside down next to her. Sylvvy playfully pokes her in the forehead, saying "Nay! I shall call you Sena, Sena." Sylvan leans back against the oak, pressing a hand against it. "Hmmm... Syl huh? I'm unfamiliar with how nicknames work. Would it not be Sylvvy?" She reaches up a hand, pulling down one of the smaller branches to wrap around her. "And to answer your question, that's part of it. I just like being up here though, my back to a mighty tree." Sylvan smiles brightly, though she herself is a bit confused. Why was she so happy? She had done this many nights, yet never before had she felt so bright and cheerful. Usually all she felt was a gloom that, while comfortingly grey, was dim. It wasn't that she didn't love grey skies and fogs; in her opinion, they were far superior to sunny days. But here and now, with Sena, the starry night was glorious. It was a sensation she did not understand.What is this? "Sena, do you do this very often? Take this route, I mean? I'm up here in this wonderful oak almost every night, but I've never encountered you up with me."
{486 Words}

The poke sent Seresana gently rocking back and forth a little, or at least added to the motion that she was already performing. "Sey-nah," Seresana repeated curiously after the poke, and a few more times silently in her head. "Sena, I like it, it sounds pretty," she finally said with another smile towards Sylvan. "For some maybe, but I like Syl, it's short and hints towards something greater," Seresana replied from where she continued to hang and resigned to listen to Sylvan's continued replies and explanations. She knew she could relate at least in part to what Sylvan was saying from her own experiences. Seresana had spent a great many hours out in the woods herself, at first just in the form of fondly remembered camping trips with her father where he had shown her a lot of the basic survival skills she'd put to use more times than not. Things like how to make her own fire, scrounge up shelter for a night, how to fish, hunt, and gather, and possibly the most cherished, how to shoot a bow. Then there were the times she'd been out in the woods by herself, camping, training, just out having fun. There was even the time when she'd met her current sensei, Ranzaki Tokamin out in the woods on one of her little camping trips, and she was always looking forward to the next time she'd be out in the woods for an extended amount of time.

Seresana however managed to drag her attention back to Sylvan well before she asked her question though, as her memories had been brief as she skimmed through them. "No, not often. My home's a bit outside the village walls a ways down from here. It'd be much quicker if I'd cut through the town and went out another one of the gates, but..." Seresana trailed off for a moment as she looked about the path, the woods, the stream, and the finally the sky overhead that was still slowly darkening in it's steady march to night. "I wanted to go this route because it's a much nicer walk, and I don't need to be anywhere tonight. Plus the errands I had to do left me on this side of the village," Seresana added from where she hung. Reaching up and grasping the branch with her hands, Seresana slowly unhooked her legs from the branch, being careful to make sure she was still hanging upside down. Then when her legs were behind the branch, she straightened them out so their weight would pull her right side up, and finally with a bit of a swing of her hips to the right and her legs over the branch, Seresana was once more sitting upright on the branch and smiling at Sylvan directly. "So you're up here a lot Syl? I bet the stars are really pretty. I know they are from my house," Seresana said as she looked up to the sky that was still a little too bright from the sun's fading rays for the full assortment of stars that would come to grace the two girls in the tree.

Slowly, Seresana inhaled a deep breath, and then just as slowly exhaled the accumulated air in her lungs. "Ah, I like this time of day, especially after a busy day like today when I've done a bunch of things. What about you Syl, or are you more of a morning person?" Seresana asked with with little bit of sarcasm to her voice, but it was light enough and with that carefree, just plainly happy smile that easily showed she meant nothing serious about it.

Word Count: 608
Total: 1588

Sylvan, or 'Syl' as she would apparently be called smiles as she reaches up her arms and pulls her onto a branch above Sena so she can hang over the branch and prop her chin up. "I'm glad you like it!" Syl says happily, swinging around the branch and dropping nimbly back onto the one she was on previously. She props her arms on the trunk of the three, twisting around to pop her back. Several loud cracks echo through the tree as she goes the other. Once she's down, she turns around and lays back on the thick branch, sighing in relief. She looks up, watching the stars and leaves mingle in her vision. 'I love Konoha.. So beautiful..' she thinks as she awaits Sena's answer. When she hears it, she lolls her head to the side, smiling brightly. "It is a nicer route! The forest is lovely this time of night." Syl thinks it over for a moment. 'An idea occurs... But I should wait until she's finished talking before I say it.' "the stars are always beautiful, more so from up her. Watching the branches and leaves try to hide them, till the wind nudges them aside... I wouldn't trade it for the world." Syl grins "This is always my favorite time of day. I'm not much of a morning person myself, I spend to much time beneath the night sky for that. 'the stars will aid in her escape.' "Say Sena? Did you say you still had errands to run?" Syl asks, very eager. "If you do, I would love to help you! you're fun to spend time with!" It would be quite clear that telling Syl no would be akin to kicking a puppy. Not that Syl knew, but a blush was starting to form. Sylvan really wasn't good at this aspect of social interaction. Her parents had tried to explain it, but she often tuned them out while reading a book.
She eagerly looks up at Sena, her lilac eyes temporarily free of their clashing forces. She wasn't why Sena had such a calming effect on her, but it was not something she wanted to lose. Sena wasn't someone she met with very often, yet she felt like a long time friend. She wasn't sure why... But it felt nice.
{389 Words}

Seresana adopted a pained smile as one hand went to awkwardly scratch the back of her head. "I uh, sorry Syl but I kind of already finished my errands for the day. Oh, but don't worry, we can always do something else," Seresana added quickly enough so as to not allow Sylvan to have time to adopt a frown or any upset expression. Seresana smiled reassuringly up to Sylvan while the taller girl hung from the other branches and as she tried to think of something they could do together this late in the day. It would be dark well before they even reached any of the parks or playground, let alone had any time to play any of the games on any of the equipment there, plus it was already so nice out here that it'd be something of a waste to bother heading back into town. While she wasn't sure about Sylvan, Seresana had already eaten dinner a bit earlier this afternoon and therefore didn't have any need to go back into town for that reason either.

Instead of just trying to think of things they could do based on her memories of the day, Seresana instead looked aboug the immediate area for something to do. Her eyes went to the stream first, as she watched the by now much cooler if not outright cold waters continue to rush by. With the sun's continued descent, the glare was slowly getting less extreme but it was still enough to obscure just about everything beneath it's surface. It wasn't too late for fishing, but Seresana didn't have her pole or a spare for Sylvan either so that was out of the question. Then her gaze shifted to the tree and while it was neat hanging out more literally like this, it wasn't exactly excessively fun. "Hmm, why don't we just go on a walk for now?" Seresana asked as she started to push herself up a little before springing off the branch and landing on her feat on the path down below. "We could walk around and wait for something fun to appear before us," Seresana went on as she looked back up to Sylvan in the tree, holding out a hand to invite Sylvan along to walk next to her.

Word Count: 382
Total: 1970

Sylvan was very briefly upset with herself. Honestly, she felt more a fool than disappointed (or so she told herself). After all, it was very late at night. Who would have errands at this hour? Well, she could think of a few, but none of them really applied to Sena. To the best of her knowledge, Sena didn't have a roommate or a burrow. Sylvan had both, but she'd taken care of that when she first woke up. 'Obliviously Sena doesn't have a burrow! [s]we[/s] I still can't believe you have a burrow! You're an embarrassment!' She quickly shook these thoughts aside. She would not think them, not while she was with Sena. The evening was too nice to be weighed down by such things.
Sylvan brightens up visibly at Sena's reassurances."Really? Like what? Its too late to go anywhere to eat..." 'I really ought to get her something. Gifts will improve her disposition towards me. i wonder if she likes rabbits? I could probably find one from the forest.....' "Sena? Do you like rabbits?" Syl asks, hopeful. She could probably catch a rabbit. At Sena's suggestion of a walk, Syl nods eagerly and begins descending the tree.
{200 Words}

"Yeah, I like bunnies," Seresana replied as Sylvan descended and then the pair started to walk along the edge of the embankment. For a little while, there wasn't much that moved about in this stage of ending twilight. The forest was quiet, and the only real noise came from their footsteps and the quiet sounds of the running water to their left. There were also no people to see on the path either as this was a seldom walked path and on the outskirts of the village itself. Still though, Seresana walked with a happy skip in her step as she strode with Sylvan, swinging her arms wide with each slightly elongated step to compensate for her much shorter stature compared to the taller girl. As they walked, the sun still continued it's steady descent and before long, the orb of burning light had all but disappeared, leaving just a lingering after affect of dimming light to gradually be beaten back by the steadily growing darkness that was gradually covering the sky. A few more stars had managed by now to peak out in the diminishing amount of light as well, their twinkling lights soon joining their other brighter fellows that had managed to appear moments before.

"What about you Syl? Do you like rabbits? Actually, what's your favorite animal?" Seresana asked, turning to look up at Sylvan while still walking along the path. "Hmm, there's also still the matter of thinking of something to do... If we stay on this path long enough, and then turn off at the right point, we could get to my house pretty easily, maybe we could find something to do there?" Seresana thought to herself as she awaited Sylvan's reply. Absently, her hands had stopped their swinging when she asked her question and started pondering. Instead they wound up behind her with her fingers lacing together as her hands held each other, but this seemed like a temporary arrangement at best.

Word Count: 328
Total: 2298

Sylvan does not yell out and hug the girl next to her in happiness. She just generally refrained form those sorts of emotional outbursts,. But still, she smiled happily. She could probably find a rabbit for Sena. It would be a gift. 'I might have to build some sort of enclosure for the rabbit first.. Ah well, shouldn't be too hard.' Sylvan thought as she slide gracefully down the surface of the tree. Hopping off just before she slams into the ground, she quickly catches up to Sena, then slows so she can walk easily along at the girl's side. Well, as easily as she could. Sylvan easily loomed over Sena, slightly more so than she did that Uchiha girl, Iku. 'Arrogant little... *ahem*'
Sylvan walked alongside Sena, height and stride differences be damned. Sylvan didn't really notice the fact that her stride was much larger than Sena's, what with her long legs, so Sena might have a bit of trouble keeping up unless she let Syl know. Perhaps the reason for Sylvan not noticing Sena's shorter strides was that her gaze was practically glued to the sky. She had always had a fascination with the stars, but kept to the forests and wooded areas do to their attainability. Even so, that glittering canvas held a deep enthrallment to her, to the point of causing her to stumble several times during their walk. Still, she managed admirably. "My favorite animal? Hmmmm.... Magpies. They're nice. That wonderful color, and such personalities. No doubt about it. I may dress in greens and browns, but if I ever cleaned up for a dance, I 'd dress in feathered black for sure." Sylvan says, her eyes sparkling and her voice distance in wonderland. Clearly, this is something she's often though about beneath these starry nights.
{300 Words}

Seresana forced herself to recall the little bird that Sylvan had mentioned in her reply, and for a bit she was having trouble bringing up the image. That was until Sylvan brought up the mention of the dress and she found herself finally able to picture the bird. Though that image was quickly replaced by the next one. Seresana looked over Sylvan from head to toe, taking in all the details she could about the taller girl. Then with that image still in her mind, Seresana faced back towards the path as they walked. In her mind however, Seresana was busy piecing together a black feathered dress on Sylvan, and she vocalized her thoughts. "I bet it'd be really pretty. Some long black fabric, slimming, long, and wavy in the slightest breeze or even your walk, reaching down to your feet. Maybe a secondary layer that'd be a bit longer, but made of a thinner, see through fabric layered over top that'd almost always be suspended in the air. The primary fabric however something deep black, or such a dark blue it looks black, with tiny gems or sequence gems in a wide and spacious pattern going all the way up. An open back, but with an shiney black feathered shawl to offer cover for it and rest upon your shoulders. Some long gloves as well that'd travel up the arms, sporting a few more feathers along them, but done so in a way that drew the eye up towards the face and shawl," Seresana described kind of in a daze at her own imagination.

"Oh, or maybe a yukata, still with a black feathered pattern, but set on a background of vibrant greens and a few other colors. And the sash could be feathered too, especially if you went with the more shiny black feathers so you had a different black from the color that the feathers on the yukata had," Seresana went on again, but this time she stopped herself before the rant could go on for too long. "Hehe, sorry, I guess I went a little wild with that," Seresana apologized as she continued to walk. "So have you gone to many festivals Syl?" Seresana asked then taking a guess that Sylvan might have enjoyed such a scene where she'd dress up pretty and walk around enjoying festivities like dancing, games, and of course the fireworks that lit up the night's sky at the end.

Word Count: 408
Total: 2706

Originally, Sylvan had thought she would mentioned the dress, and Sena would say something complementary. That would be all. A pleasant social exchange, onto the next one. Not that that was what she preferred, that was her experience. So it was with pleasant surprise that she looked over and down as Sena began describing a wonderful dress Sylvan was now very very excited about one day commissioning. Whether or not Sena realized it, Sylvan was mentally cataloguing every word she said, to be written down later. There weren't many occasions for such a dress, but it would still be wonderful.
She walks along, fortunately not coming across anything that could trip them up while the two fantasize over Sylvan's imaginary dress. 'I wonder how much this would cost? Probably a lot. I'd need to be at least a Jounin before I coudl even think of trying to purchase it. Better start saving up now, I guess.'
Syllvan is snapped back to reality as Sena apologizes (for some reason) about providing the lovely mental image. 'I need to start carrying around a notebook at this rate.' "No no, keep going. I'm writing all this down first chance I get." she thinks over Sena's question about the festivals. Ducking her head, she sighs. "No, not really. I like dancing and singing, but... So many people. It puts me on edge. I help set up the stages before hand, but tend to watch from the bushes. I'm not really... good with crowds, you see." Sylvan sighs wistfully. "Still, I can see the fireworks, as the light up the night sky. Ahh, such beautiful colors to paint across the already glorious canvas of dusk.... Mmm.." Sylvan seems to have zoned out again, not noticing a rather large root up ahead. Just when it seems she will trip, she gracefully steps over it, despite still being by all visual examinations, utterly lost in memory lane.
{318 Words}

"I remember my mom and dad took me to the last one in the village," Seresana said to continue to conversation about the time. "It was a lot of fun, and I think you'd like it. We walked around almost all night, going to the various booths. We had squid, yakisoba, cotton candy, and all kinds of other good foods. And then there were the games we got to play. I won a gold fish at one that I got to keep, I even got to name her shimmer," Seresana went on as she recalled scenes from the happy memory. "My dad won a couple games too before we all found a nice place to watch the fireworks from. They were so big, like they were lighting up the whole sky, as far as I could see. Oh, and I got to where a new yukata just for the occasion. A deep blue yukata with a lighter blue and white snowflake pattern on it. I've still got it somewhere at home, I think," Seresana concluded as she took a moment to try and remember where she'd left that outfit, or if it'd even fit her now since that festival was a little while ago.

As the two continued to walk, the sun had finally set, and the last of it's light had faded to the point where there was only a relatively small patch of dark blue that was lighter than the rest of the darker black sky. The stars were out nearly in full now, but unfortunately, the two had come to a point in the path where the stream pulled away from it and the forest consumed it. The canopy of tree limbs overhead obscured most of the sky, and turned the already dark scene into almost solid blackness, yet Seresana still walked diligently forward. It wasn't long even until Seresana purposely diverged from the path, but it was so dark by this point that it'd be hard to tell. Seresana was just managing to go by memory and the few land marks she could make out in the darkness as she worked her way onward back to her house. "You should come with me to the next festival Syl, we could go together, as friends," Seresana said reassuringly as she smiled to Sylvan, though she'd have a hard time managing to see it in the total darkness.

Word Count: 400
Total: 3106

Sylvan looks over and down, listening to Sena talk about her experience in the festival. It sounded a wondrous experience. A shame she didn't do well in crowds, it didn't sound like something to miss, if Sena was to be believed. "You named it Shimmer? Hmm." Sylvan works this name over in her mouth, before nodding. "Shimmer. I approve."Sylvan grins as she listens to Sena describe the fireworks. Fire works were the one part of the festival Sylvan actually got to see, usually by tree. She'd perch up at the top of her favorite oak, the one she'd just left, and watch them all throughout the night. Beautiful reds, blues, greens, and many other colors. It wasn't very often she got to see them, but she treasured every moment. Sylvan continues walking with Sena, stepping over a root, skipping over a puddle, and generally avoiding getting tripped up by the terrain.
When they entered the canopy, Sylvan was relatively unconcerned. She had very good night eyes, and Sena seemed to know where she was going. "I'd love to! You can show me all the stalls and such. ... I don't really have a yukata though, will that be okay?" she asked, concerned. From her typical vantage point, she couldn't really see what people were wearing, just splashes of color, flowing throughout the festival grounds like a river. it was a beautiful sight to be sure, but it didn't really give her an idea of what the standard dress for such a thing was. Still, if Sena was going with her, she would grit her tetth and brave the crowd. It was the least she could do after taking up so much of the girl's time with this walk, considering she was probably on her way home. Unlike Sylvan, Sena lived with her parents to the best of Syl's knowledge. Hopefully they wouldn't be worried about Sena, or mad at her for keeping her out late. Then again, Sena was a ninja, so they probably wouldn't be too worried.
{338 Words}

"Oh course it would be, you can wear whatever you like to a festival," Seresana replied as she continued to walk with Sylvan. "I saw a lot of neat dresses, but also plenty of other people in all kinds of other clothes. There was even one old guy in some old samurai looking armor, but he might have been part of the festival," Seresana recalled while her thoughts drifted to all the different kinds of outfits she'd encountered at the festival, so many different styles, colors, and looks. Seresana soon shook her head though to chase off the memories since she needed to be at least a little focused on the route they were walking since she was going more by memory at this point and she didn't frequent this path enough to have it simply committed to muscle memory yet.

It was only a bit later when the trees thinned and disappeared before them, opening up to an area too large and too tended to, to be a grove. "Ah, here's my house," Seresana said excitedly as she pointed to the large building that was in the center of the clearing. It was a large house, complete with 2 stories if the windows on the walls were anything to go by. Designed in a more traditional oriental style with highly slanted roofs that sported a dark colored tile that was impossible to determine their color in the dark of night. Lighter walls that were likely white with a different colored trim supported the roofs. Numerous windows were scattered about the structure and while a few were dark, a good many others held a steady glow from the lights on inside. On such a cool night as tonight even, one of the large sliding doors on the side of the building was open and two figures could be seen sitting in the room past the threshold while a third sat on the porch before it.

The figures in the room appeared to be a mother and son, judging by the heights and genders. The older woman was likely Seresana's mom, as she sported many similar features as Seresana. The same dark hair though hers was considerably longer, the same lighter skin, similar facial struicture though obviously the older woman's appeared a little more developed along with the rest of her body, which would serve to note more than a couple features that had just not developed on Seresana yet. She wore a beautiful red and white kimono while sitting at a small table with the boy. Though one key difference that could be noted about the woman was her distinctly light blue colored eyes. The son out of the two was likely Seresana's brother, and a younger one by the look of him. Short brown hair atop some darker skin and young boyish features. His own dark brown eyes danced happily back and forth between the table and the mother, making it likely they were playing a game upon it's surface. He wore some simply and plain dark blue pants and a white shit, likely just a simple outfit before bed.

The man on the porch however was a fairly different story. While Seresana shared many of her mother's looks, and the brother came to possess a few himself, this man on the porch looked nothing like Seresana. Her had a much more square jaw line, dark skin like the brother, and similar dark brown hair, though his was kept a good bit longer. He was also taller, and built a bit differently, though part of that could be expected from just the fact that he was a man and Seresana was a woman, but he truly didn't look much if anything like Seresana herself. The man however still sat on the edge of the porch in a loose and likely comfy hakama done in simple black and white with no fancy pattern to it. In the man's lap was a length of wood he slowly worked on with a knife, and had been for some time if the pile of wood shavings littering the ground below him was anything to go by.

It was at this point though that Seresana suddenly looked towards Sylvan with a gleeful expression. "Oh, I can introduce you to my family now!" Seresana exclaimed happily as she took Sylvan's hand and hurriedly led her across the yard and to the other three people. They didn't get too far though before the man out on the porch took notice of them and looked over his shoulder to say something to the other occupants of the room, though Seresana and Sylvan were still a little to far out to really hear. That was rapidly changing though as they got closer, and when they were close enough, Seresana let go of Sylvan's hand and leapt at the man on the porch while calling out, "hey daddy."

"Ah there you are Sere," the man called as he caught her and hugged her tightly, managing to set his wood working tools off to the side just before Seresana'd jumped. "You get all those errands done for your mother?" he then asked while throwing a thumb over his shoulder to the other two people still sitting in the room but now watching the scene with mixed expressions. The mother had a gentle smile while the brother had an annoyed frown. Seresana nodded before a hand was rested on top of her head and proceeded to ruffle up her hair. "That's my little girl, but oh? Now who is this you've brought home with you?" the man replied as he let Seresana up off his lap before standing up himself.

"Dad, Mom, Hitagi, this is my friend Sylvan Yamanaka, she's in my class and we play together. I ran into her on my way home today and we started walking back together," Seresana explained as she introduced Sylvan to her family. "Syl, this is my dad Vesken Hatasuko," she started with a gesture to the tall and muscular man who waved and grinned brightly. "My mom, Sophia Hatasuko," Seresana went on with a gesture to the woman in the house who smiled gently and nodded before saying a quiet but very friendly sounding 'hello'. "And lastly my bratty brother Hitagi Hatasuko," Seresana muttered, her tone dropping a little and gaining a little annoyance to it.

Hitagi was about the only one to say more than just a simple greeting. "She sounds more like your girlfriend!" Hitagi called out in his childish voice, and while the mother turned a disapproving glare at him before sternly calling his name, Seresana blushed profusely and tried to stammer out some form of denial that only really succeeded in getting Vesken to burst out laughing.

When the scene had calmed down a little bit, Sophia looked towards the two girls still standing out at the edge of the porch. "Seresana, why don't you show your friend to your room," Sophia said to discretely offer a way out of the embarrassing situation for Seresana.

"Ah, that's a great idea mom," Seresana replied as she once more tried to take Sylvan's hand to lead her into and through the large home. "Come on Syl, my room's got some really neat stuff and it's upstairs," Seresana said while looking back with a smile awaiting a reply.

Word Count: 1225
Total: 4331

Sylvan grins as she thinks of what all she could where. Most of it cost money though, generally more than she had that. Fortunately, at least short-term, such things such as 'reality' and "economics' did not figure into her imagination at the moment. Sylvan generally had a poor head for how much things cost. Hopefully someone would find a way to break the facts of buying expensive clothing to her gently, or else her wails and moping would be felt by everyone around her. Currently though, she continued to fantasize about various grabs and festival stands.

Sylvan briefly parts from half or more formed dances and dresses and splendid pastries to look at Sena's home. It was much larger than Sylvan had imagined it being. It was built differently from some of the other buildings Sylvan had seen. She wonders why that is. Supposedly, most of this place, houses included, were grown by the power of a single.... Something, Sylvan still wasn't sure which gender. Based on that, one would think everything would be in similar style, so as to conserve power and not kill the ninja performing whatever wossname was used to make Konoha. Then again, she supposed, if you were going to do something, you might as well do it right. Perhaps he had obsessively revised it until he had a version that would make a asymmetrical, individually unique village without killing them. Another possibility was that he/she, like Sylvan herself, had the same mental issue of clashing minds. Perhaps one of the clashes had resulted in a few houses being different? Sylvan didn't know. Though it did give her an interesting idea for festival clothing.... Perhaps she could find some paints.

Sylvan resurfaced from her thoughts again once Sena had lead her close enough to recognize their faces. Well, not recognize, for she had never met these people. Still, they were Sena's family, so they were probably quite nice. Sena did seem in an awful rush to introduce them to her, though. Sylvan wondered why. Was there some sort of family tradition behind it, or was it another one of those social conventions she always seemed to miss when around Sena. While it was nice to not have the constant internal conflict (and the strange warm floaty feeling, the identity of which she couldn't quite place, but definitely enjoyed), the dark thing knew all about how to act like a ... ... .. Crazy person? Normal person? She wasn't sure. Sena was very different from her, but she didn't want to call someone who made her os happy a lunatic. That would be rude,and she felt somehow that Sena would be upset. She did not want to upset Sena. It wasn't like normal, where she just generally wanted to go through life without upsetting too many people. This time there was actual fear of what would happen if she upset Sena. She wasn't sure why she cared so much, but it wasn't worth the pain to find out why. So she would just follow Sena's lead and hope for the best.

Sylvan's expression slides into neutral as other people are involved. She was okay, their weren't that many. It wan't like the festival crowds. The classrooms were more crowded than this, and she was perfectly fine in those. No need to worry. No need to have a panic attack and lie frothing on the crowd or run away back to the forest, that would embarrass Sena, and might even hurt her feelings. That was on the list of Things I Won't Be Doing that Sylvan had complied mentally, so she made sure to keep as as calm as possibly while Sena greeted her father.
Sylvan assumes that Sena has a lot of family, and that there will be a little time for more daydreaming before she has to do anything. By this point, her thoughts hav meandered to the point where she realizes she is envisioning wedding kimonos, though must of them would be considered unlucky. Sylvan never really got that. About the time Sena introduces her brother, Sylvan comes out of her daydream, murmuring "Hmm? I was thinking about weddings, what did I miss?" She manages to hear the tale end of Hitagi's teasing though, which promptly stuns her. "I- What? Girlfriend? Ye- What? I- Huh?" She babbles, panicked and at war within herself. She almost said something, that she didn't think she felt. Sena was Sena, nice, but not someone like Yusuri, someone with whom she could mutually ignore and read a book. Syl didn't really understand the full meaning of dating, romance, or that weddings were something other than a ceremonial party will lots of colors. to be fair, her parents had difficulties molding concepts into shapes that were compatible with how Syl thought.

Sylvan is again interrupted from her musings as Sena takes her upstairs, apparently to show her some of the stuff she had. Sylvan wonders if that was something she was supposed to do as well. She didn't have much. Weapons, a bed, some books. She really wanted some paints, but she needed to conserve her money. Yusuri would be annoyed if she spent their food budget on unapproved items, just like Sylvan would be if Yusuri did such a thing. As much as she liked the forest, sleeping their was dangerous. That's mainly why she roomed with Yusuri. Well, that, and they fact that storing books in a forest without them becoming damaged in some way was almost impossible, and she was not willing to allow books to become damaged when it could've been avoided. Sylvan had a great respect for books, and knowledge in general. One of the things that annoyed her was that some knowledge wasn't shared. she understood why the Sharingan didn't belong to everyone, but the Mind Body Swap was a technique that could be taught to the village as a whole. Still, her family had made it very clear that if she ever tried to teach it to another, they would kill her. She believed them, but it still didn't make sense to her. She had heard rumors of 'forbidden scrolls' in other parts of the village, and so desperately wanted to read them. The Dark thing had warned her not to vocalize such desires though, and she trusted it, so she didn't.

Turning to Sena as they climbed the stairs, she asked "What sort of things do you have? Books? I like books.." Beyond books, Sylvan couldn't really imagine what else Sena might have that was worth being so excited about.
{1095 Words}

"I've got a few books and scrolls," Seresana replied as she continued to lead Sylvan up the last of the stairs and down a hallway. Past one set of doors and then going to the right door at the second set of doors, Seresana threw it open for herself and Sylvan to enter. Inside was a respectable sized room with several furnishings inside. A simple bed with a nicely carved frame featuring a spiraling pattern and eye pleasing filigree supported a simple mattress with a dark green blanket and white pillow. A tall wooden dresser with several drawers that didn't sport the same bit of extra carved detail the other pieces of the room did stood at the end of the room past the end of the bed. A desk with vanity mirror stood next to the dresser, sporting similar spiraling patterns and holding a few things upon it's surface. A little bit of make-up, a closed jewelry box, and a hair brush were in plain view and the drawers on it hinted towards more contents.

There was also a large closet built into the room as part of the wall to the left of the door. There were a few posters up on the walls, one over the bed displaying highly styalized versions of the different chakra nautres and their characters, while another was actually done up like a large map with the different lands, their respective villages and signs color coded upon it's surface was one the inside of her door, and a final one showing the dragon from a popular fiction book seires, coiled about and breathing out a massive plume of fire was hung overhead up on the ceiling. And lastly there was a bed side stand and a book and scroll case, each sporting the same neat carvings and patterns that hinted towards them being made by the same person.

"Here's my room," Seresana started as she gestured to the whole space and everything inside it. "My dad made most of the furniture," Seresana added while striding into the room. "But what I wanted to show you was over here," she said while quickly striding over to the closet and throwing open it's door. While she dug into the space that had a handful of clothes and coats hanging up in the closet along with a few boxes sitting on the floor below. Around Seresana's room, the dresser could be opened to see the clothes inside, the desk next to it could be scrounged in to find the cloth ties she used to bind her clothes, the bandages she used on her arms, and a few other hair tending supplies. And finally the book case could be explored to find several of the book series relating to the ceiling poster, a few school related books, and several ninja basics scrolls.

Sylvan wouldn't have long to dig around though before Seresana suddenly sprung up. "Aha, I found it!" She exclaimed happily before turning back towards Sylvan with a little stack of paper in her grasp. Seresana ran over to Syl and motioned for her to sit on the bed with Seresana. Then she sat the stack of paper down next to her and handed a sheet over to Sylvan. "This is called chakra paper, and it can show you what kind of chakra you have. You just have to build up some chakra and then focus it into the paper and it should react, and then based on how it reacts will tell us what kind of chakra you have," Seresana explained. "Why don't you try it Syl," Seresana said with a gesture to the paper she'd handed Sylvan.

Word Count: 613
Total: 4944

Sylvan follows Sena, excited. This was a thing she hadn't really done before, that is, coming over to someone Else's house. Her only other 'friend' was Yusuri, with whom she shared a dwelling. so coming to this strange girl's house and meeting her family was.... something. The Dark Thing seemed to know, but it wasn't giving The Girl any hints. "Come on... Not even a hint? You love giving hints!" "There is no hint! If you don't see what I'm getting at, then no hint will help you!" "Hmph. You're no fun then!" So yeah, no hints. The Girl honestly didn't see anything weird about this situation 'Shows what you know.', aside from the fact that this was her first time doing something like this. 'Oh dear.. I wonder how this will end.' 'If you have nothing useful to say, shut up.' Honestly, she didn't know why The Dark Thing was so edgy about Sena. She seemed to bear them no ill will, and was being quite kind. It was unlikely that this was a trap; after all, they were definitely of the same village. 'Not what I'm worried about.' 'Then what are you worried about?! Stop hiding things from me!' 'I'm pretty sure this is something you should figure out on your own. I'll stop you if you're about to mess up, but I'm not doing anything beyond that.' 'You.... You.... Arrrrgh!' 'Heheheheh...'

Coming back to reality, Sylvan took a look around the room. It was quite beautiful, especially the bed's spiraling designs. "You did not just say 'the bed'." "what do you mean? You're always going on about how I should appreciate artwork more!" Still, it was very nice, on that both sides of the coin agreed. The spiraling pattern from the bed was also present on the dresser, something Syl desperately wanted to ask Sena about. It was... a great deal nicer than the shared place with Yusuri. Granted, Sylvan only had to share the whole thing with one person whereas Sena had to constantly deal with her whole family 'Horror of horrors!' 'Sarcasm?' [b]'Nope.'[/n] so Sylvan liked hers a little more. But it was a great deal more spartan than the beautifully crafted furniture in this room. Sylvan was especially drawn to the posters. They were each beautiful, in their own way, and Sylvan dearly wanted some like them. The maps most of all. Sylvan had a fascination with maps, enjoying any afternoon with one spread out across the floor. She would lay on her stomach and trace across the winding paths with a finger, breathing in the scents the parchment had picked up during its life. that being said, the dragon poster and its trail of flame was equally beautiful, albeit in a different way. There were also more signs of that interesting spiral pattern before. Who was doing that? Sylvan wanted to meet them.
Sylvan would continue to look at the books until Sena's exclamation, at which point she turns, curious as to what Sena wishes to show her. Upon hearing Sena's explanation, she hesitantly takes the paper and builds up her chakra. Once she has what she has deemed enough, she gently pushes it into the paper, which then becomes soggy and damp.
"So.... I'm guessing this is either water or fire?"
{546 Words}

Seresana had been bent low while retrieving the papers, and so she'd missed Sylvan's eyes and what she'd looked at or how her expression might have changed when spotting some of Seresana's furniture. Still, she was watching closely when Sylvan seized the paper and channeled her chakra into the receptive paper. "Water," Seresana confirmed as she watched the paper turn limp and droop with the dampness that spread out from Sylvan's grip. "According to the paper, your's chakra nature's water. If I'm remembering correctly, it means you tend to be patient yet strong and something about timing, I think?" Seresana tried to recite from the scroll she'd read, but it'd been some time since she'd performed her own test to figure out what her chakra nature. The memories of the event soon entered her mind as associated memories often did. She recalled that day, she'd been out in her special hidden training spot, taking shots at the target when Hitagi startled her with the very same stack of papers.

"You must keep this a secret, let no one know," her mother's words suddenly rang out in her head loud and clear. A set in stone warning that she wasn't to show anyone what her nature was as it'd possibly give away too great a hint to what she actually was. Seresana had never received a consequence for if she did let the secret fly, but the stone cold fear and hard set determination in her mother's eyes at the time had been more than enough to seal her away to secrecy, and so with another smile, Seresana got back up, picked up the slowly shrinking bundle of papers, and moved to store them back in the closet for safe keeping. "So now that you've seen that, is there anything you'd want to do? I've got some books and such over there, or we could play some games. I've got checkers and shogi here in the closet," Seresana added as she dug into the space a little bit, pushing aside clothes and other boxes in search of additional entertainment pieces. "I know we've also got more than just a single deck of cards around here and there might be some other games down stairs, or we could just sit around and talk some too," Seresana added with a quick glance over her shoulder back towards Sylvan, and then the window beyond her, noting the darkness of outside.

Word Count: 406
Total: 5350

Sylvan smiles. She'd figured it was water. Once the paper had dampened, of course, not that she had secretly suspected it all along. In fact, she hadn't really thought about it much at all. She wondered why. It was a powerful ability, to know and have mastered one's chakra affinity. the whole thing about patience and strength was rather self explanatory. she had read a few scrolls of the same nature, and they tended to have a general theme. Lots of helpful contradictions designed to provide an important revelation in the heat of combat. She resolved to never allow the enemy to have such a revelation. After all, she was most definitely not the hero of this story, and as such had no such revelations coming her way. She would have to get by with hard work and general intelligence. Luckily, she had at least one of those in spades, can was getting better about the other. She wondered, idly (for she felt safe in Sena's house, though she wasn't sure why) what caused the paper to become damp. Sure, it was her chakra, but how did that work, exactly? Did she create the water that made the paper damp? It made no sense. She would have to acquire more of this interesting paper. Maybe she could ask Sena...? No, asking was too direct. It would leave her at a disadvantage. She would have to wait for the girl to ask a favor of her, at which point she would present any easy way of repaying her. Sena seemed the type that would want to repay favors. Of course, she could just as easily be the reverse, every bit the haggler Sylvan herself was. That would make things considerably more difficult, depending on the favor Sena requested. Sylvan didn't want to press the issue either, for she likes Sena rather a lot. Well, The Girl did. Asking too much of her would be counterproductive to becoming her friend. Still, she wanted that chakra paper. she was fairly sure her power was not great enough to create water instinctively. So did she drain it form herself? From the air? From Sena? these were all potentially important questions, the answer to which she had none of. they might be useful in training someday though.
Sena seemed to be contemplating something important. This put Sylvan in a quandary. On one hand, as before, she did not want to upset Sena. On the other hand, she dearly wished to know. 'Perhaps we should look into learning that mind reading ability father used to mention.' The Girl though, extremely curious as to what Sena was thinking. Ultimately, she decided to just ask. After all, if Sena decided not to tell her, she could simply deny she was thinking of anything important like the rest of the village soon. It would also increase the likelihood of her confiding in Sylvan at a later date. She would do so once Sena was finished talking.
Sylvan watches Sena puts away the paper, a bit saddened by such a tool being out of her reach. She perks up at the mention of games. They would give her a better idea of how Sena thought, hopefully. "Cards." Sylvan says. She was .... decent at cards. She could've said checkers as well. Shogi was something she would not willing play. Sylvan was quite certain if her two halves tried to play against each other, they would find a way to both lose.
there. Sena was done speaking for the moment. "Sena. You were contemplating something when I touched the paper. Might I ask what it was?"
{604 Words}

Seresana perked up at the mention of cards and began to move towards the bedroom door. "Oh, the cards are down stairs, I'll go get them," Seresana replied before Sylvan's question came, and caused her to stop. "Oh that, I was just hoping that your chakra would be the same as mine," Seresana stated as she turned around to look back with a slightly downtrodden smile. "See when I tried, the paper split in half showing that the nature of my chakra was wind, but I don't know anyone who has the same chakra nature as me. I was hoping we'd have the same so we could practice together more and help each other more," Seresana explained as her smile started to droop again. "But we don't match... Still I guess that doesn't mean we can't train together still," Seresana admitted as her smile returned a bit more.

"Oh, now I'd better go get those cards," Seresana remarked as she turned back to the door and started to push it open. "Feel free to look around some. Some of those books are really neat too and you can borrow one if you want," Seresana went on as she gestured to the collection of fantasy novel like books that were mostly part of a single series. "Be back in a sec," Seresana said before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Once she was out of sight, Seresana let out a bit of sigh to steady herself and then smiled again before proceeding down the hall and towards the stairs so she could retrieve the cards.

Word Count: 268
Total: 5618

Sylvan stares at Sena long and hard, suspicious. something was up, that off-handed reply did not make much sense. If that was the case, she might ask Sena to demonstrate, but.... 'It is clearly something that upsets her. Perhaps you should wait until you are further along in your rel- friendship. Pressing her for details of her life will only upset her, and could ruin the moments you've shared.' 'Oh... I guess you're right. Still, I really want to know!" ''Yes, but have you heard of delayed gratification? It is very necessary to learn and be comfortable with, especially in a friendship such as yours. She will tell you eventually if what she was contemplating had any actual worth to us. so be patient, I urge." "I thought you didn't like Sena... why are you helping me so much sister?" "Come on Sis. I'm not blind, and I do care about you. You clearly like this girl, so I'm not going to let you muck it up for yourself, especially not by accident!" "Well... thank you sister! i'll be sure to do the same for when you're tyring to woo the Uchiha girl." "Ye- . . ." "Hehehehe..." " . . . I hate you." "you love me and you know it. You're just mad I know better how to talk to someone than you do for once!" "and yet you couldn't do it either!"

When Sena returned, Sylvan would look up at her, deadpan. "It's a shame that you're out of chakra paper Sena. Maybe when you get some more, you can show me some of the other reactions it has." She relaxes a bit after stiff, not truly sarcastic statement. It was obvious she knew Sena had plenty more chakra paper, and that Sena was worried about something involving it, yet she was choosing not to pursue the issue at the moment.
{313 words}

The statement Sylvan gave rather instantly confused Seresana as she was positive Sylvan had seen her put away the stack of paper, and she voiced this confusion as she wandered back into the room and towards Sylvan. "What do you mean Syl? I've still got a few more sheets of the paper," Seresana replied at first before a hesitant and slightly strained smile slowly spread across her face. "But I can't really show you the other reactions since each ninja only has one, chakra nature. Though now that I think about it, I'd really like to see the paper's reaction to an earth chakra nature. Supposedly, the paper turns to dirt and crumbles away," Seresana explained as she walked towards Sylvan and then sat down on an open spot on the floor, the card box in hand.

"It sounds more interesting that mine, which just split in half," she added while taking the cards out of the box and beginning to shuffle them. First taking the cards in hand, Seresana split the deck in half, tapped them together a couple times to make sure all the cards were neat and together before bending them slightly and shifting her grip to slacking on one corner. As the cards began to fall together, they overlapped each other going from one on either side back and forth until the last card fell. Then Seresana pushed the pile back together until it was one neat pile again and then she left the deck on the floor. "So what game do you want to play?"

Word Count: 260
Total: 5878

Sylvan shrugs good-naturally. "It doesn't really matter at the moment, let's play." She watched with interest as Sena shuffled the deck. She should really learn how to do that at some point, perhaps Sena could teach her. not tonight, obviously, they had enough going on as it was, but still at some point she should learn. Speaking of which, when was she going to go home? And how? It was very very dark at the moment, and while Sylvan could find her way back, she'd rather not. It wasn't like she could stay at Sena's after all, they had only just met. It would be rude and a bit strange to even suggest such a thing, and she could hardly imagine Sena making the offer. "Still, it would make things easier." " ... you.. really don't get it, do you?" "Get what?" "*sigh*"
Sylvan shrugs. ultimately, it's just a piece of paper that reacts. while I am curious to see if the effect can be copied elsewhere, it doesn't matter at the moment." Sylvan continues watching Sena shuffle the deck. she found it almost hypnotic, watching the cards tumble through the girl's hands, end over end, as she randomized them in the way she had learned. It reminded her of something, though she wasn't sure what.
"I haven't played many card games. Show me one you like, and then I'll learn as I go along. um, if that's okay with you I mean..." She said, a tad nervously. She really wished she had had an actual card game in mind when she suggested cards. Perhaps a board game might've been a better idea? Too late now. Maybe she should've apologized better.
{279 words}

"Alright Syl, hmmm..." Seresana paused for a moment to think of the various card games she knew, and then tried to think of one that she could teach quickly and wouldn't be too complicated or rules intensive to where things would get bogged down. "We can't play euchre or bid trump, those games take too many players. That leaves blackjack, poker, rummy, doom your neighbor, war, slap jack, and go fish. Blackjack and poker aren't really that much fun without something to bet and Syl doesn't seem to have anything on her at the moment, and I don't have a store of candy for us to use instead like how mom and dad play with me and Hitagi. Rummy, Go fish, and Doom you Neighbor are really fun, but they all take a really long time to play through. Slap jack is a little simple, but war might run too long as well," Seresana contemplated to herself as she took back up the deck and started shuffling it again.

"Let's play war, it's a pretty easy game and relies more on luck than anything," Seresana explained as she once more split the deck in half, but this time she didn't perform the shuffle and instead just tried to get the two piles as close to even as she could. When Seresana was satisfied that they were at least close, she passed Sylvan one of the two piles. "So the way we play is at the same time, we each flip over the top card of our respective decks. Whoever's card is higher gets both cards, though don't add them to your deck yet. If we ever flip over the same kind of card, then we both place down three face down cards in a row next to our card. Then at the same time, we both flip over the second card and whoever's is higher get's all eight cards, even all the face downs. A winner is declared either when one person completely runs out of cards, or we get bored," Seresana explained before getting her deck ready and resting a hand gently on the top card. "Ready? On three, one, two,... three!" Seresana declared as she flipped over her card to show it was an 8 of clubs, not a high card, but not quite a low one.

Word Count: 388
Total: 6266