Start of the Journey (Temple of Gaia)

It had taken a few days traveling from his village to the starting point of his journey. Hope's father, the Chief of the Kurogane Tribe and the village Elders had told Hope his mission. He had to to try and reclaim land for himself and the Dobutsu. The Dobutsu had used force and failed, so the Tribe leaders had decided a more practical approach. Hope was to meld into the current society, work his way up in ranks and secure territory through the means that the enemy did. But first, he must seek the Blessings and Guidance of Gaia before he begins. This was to be his coming of age ceremony, however unlike the rest in his village, his would be at the age when the Kurogane of old were sent into the Forest of Eternity to survive for forty days and forty nights before returning and being reborn as a true member of the Kurogane.

Hope was happy to be chosen, though at the same time he was scared. Having journeyed through Malice, he had come across varying types of weather, though he was slightly used to the changes since the tribe was hidden within Malice with the other Dobutsu. Upon coming to the Temple of his god, Hope would whisper a small prayer. "Gaia please guide me," he would say before approaching the doors to the Temple and pushing on them.

When the boy entered the templ he would find others present, more specifically a couple of Dobutsu in their natural forms each of them currently around a bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables no doubt gathered from within the Land of Malice. One of them would glance towards who could of entered though seeing the boy and smelling his scent the others would continue what they were doing while that lone Dobutsu would break off from the ground and walk towards him."A Kuro Ningen, you come here to sing praises for Creator Goddess?" The Aero Tribe Dobutsu would say his voice strangely effeminate despite being a bird of prey. He would cock his head to the side his amber eyes peering at the boy and clicking his beak. "Why cover body, no shame before Mother Gaia." he said gesturing to Hope's clothes and it was pretty obvious he wasn't used to speaking the human tongue but it wasn't like humans were a sight in Malice most of them tended to get killed off by the roaming beasts. Either this boy was powerful or he was lucky enough to not be killed by the adverse weather conditions or both lucky and smart enough to avoid certain territories and hide from the creatures in others.

I see, Matriarch not here to give blessing, come to altar does Hope-ningen have offering? The Aero Tribe dobutsu would say after holding Hope's gaze before making a hilt of his head showing his acceptance of the Kurogane's gesture. The other Dobutsu would keep praying he would wait for Hope's reply before clicking his tongue and speaking once more if only Hope did in fact have an offering of rare harvest. Come speak to Gaia, Gaia hears all, knows all about those who live on Gaia. Follow this one, after shedding ningen covering no shame before the Mother. he said once again referring to Hope's clothing as all of the Dobutsu were uncovered, not that they weren't usually for the females their delicates were inside already and for the males it was concealed within a sheathe. Then again only Ningen brought being as one was at birth was shameful amongst others of their kind, what a curse being of the Shinigami not even being free amongst themselves how could they watch other races be free and not be envious, hateful this is why they must seek to tame or kill those that are free. Ningen spiteful like that, Kuro tribe different, close to Gaia not like Kuro Shinobi, difference simple Kuro tribe smell free, wild, Kuro clan smell like pet stink like shinobi. That was the only reason Hope hadn't been torn apart by the Dobutsu in the temple, even though they were must fewer in number they would defend Mother Gaia's temple to their last breath before they could let Ningen come and pervert it to their own ends.

Hope would nod at the instructions given to him. He was kind of glad the dobutsu had told him to shed his clothing, as he hated it. He had been having to wear them ever since he was decided to be the one to infiltrate the shinobi world so as to get used to being covered, but honestly the cloth itched every part of his body. It was worse than bug bites in his opinion. Hope moved to the doorway and stripped himself of the confining clothes before setting them outside the temple so as to not pervert the place further. He had taken the offerings his father had given him from his pockets beforehand and returned to the Dobutsu. He would follow the Dobutsu, hoping Gaia would accept his offering of the various flower seeds that his tribe was known to plant. His tribe, following the path of old was peaceful and hated needless deaths. It was one reason why they didnt participate in the war. Besides hunting only for food like any other predator, they often grew fields of flowers and replanted areas that had been destroyed by natural destruction. Their tribe village was surrounded by fields of flowers with a fruit trees and vegetable gardens at differing intervals. Sure, farming was a human invention but the Kurogane tribe saw it as a way to restore nature and maintain their population without too much harm to the wildlife. But there was also the fact of their clan having the spirits of animals inside them. Some were strictly carnivorous, like Hope's Gobul spirit which could easily be discerned by his birthmark on his body that was surrounded by his tribal markings. While others were omnivorous or herbivorous. But all of the Kurogane tribe devoted themselves to restoring the beauty of the wild which is why he had been given various seeds and a pinecone as his offering. There was one seed for each member of the clan, each a different genus of plant. It was a symbol of the unity of his clan all praying to Gaia to wish him luck on his journey and asking for his protection and Gaia's guidance.

The Dobutsu would kneel and offer prayers to Gaia in it's native tongue after taking the offerings and placing them in a dirt pit near the altar, as the every part of the planet was Gaia's domain and thus placing the offerings in the ground was like giving them to Her as directly as possible. The temple was truly blessed by Gaia though as after a while the offerings would sink lower never rotting no matter how long they were placed within the pit. The Dobutsu would finish his prayers before getting up once more to speak to the kurogane boy. Ningen's offering has been received, Gaia will continue to watch over Kuro tribe. The Aero tribe dobutsu said before walking a bit and promptly sitting down away from the altar beckoning Hope to follow.

Kuro Ningen is seeking guidance...how exactly?