Cat Whisperer [D- Rank]

Mission:

It had been a rough couple of months but Vicktoria was finally out and about after convincing her parents that being a shinobi was actually worth her time. In truth, there were times where she didn’t actually believe that what with all her teammates randomly disappearing causing her to be on her own but maybe this will change with this person, or is she going to have another dud on her hands. She arrived at the rendezvous point earlier than what was agreed on, not because she wanted to make a good impression but mainly because she didn’t want to hear her parents complain about her doing meaningless tasks. That she simply waited for him to get there so that they could get the show on the road.

Skelmar had recently left the missions office with a new mission, while he felt it was meaningless to find missing cat he didn't argue, it was easy Xel and he didn't mind much, he mostly stuck to himself doing his missions if he could. However, this time he was paired up with another to complete this task "Lets see what happens pairing up. Hopefully its worth while i have an appointment with the clan leader for a new hive at the Shinto compound" He strode through the village towards the predestined meeting location with his head held high while alert to his surroundings. While within distance of his overly powerful sense of smell and hearing he would notice a body presumably female rustling at the meet spot. "Seems I was beat to the punch" Normally Skelmar would be the first on location mostly due to his own personal appearance, but this time he would be last to arrive.

Coming around the bend he would lay eyes on his new partner "I assume you're my partner on this mission? A pleasure to meet you my name is Skelmar"

Just as she was about to drift off into fantasy land, her teammate had arrived. “Yes, yes I am. My name is Vicktoria.” She said with a smile before extending her hand for a handshake. He was a bit different from her last team, Roark, but then again Roark was a middle-aged man and he was a child so naturally, there would be a difference appearance-wise but would there be a personality difference as well? “So time to hunt some animals I suppose. Should be easy enough as we have information from a bunch of civilians on cat sightings so we should get to it.” She said before signaling to him the direction they were supposed to be heading in. “So how about you tell me about yourself?” She asked while reading the directions to where the first cat had been spotted.

Nodding at her name in confirmation Skelmar ended up staring at her hand as it was outreached in greeting. Sighing out softly he took her hand, however not in the general greeting that was in the form of a hand shake. Instead he rather took her hand and bent slightly to adjust for their height difference kissing the back of her hand speaking "Again it is a pleasure" before gently letting go and walking with her "This shouldn't take too long I'd figure." After closing his mouth it seemed like a cat matching one of the descriptions came floating towards them before being deposited into the cage Skelmar had been given to assure the cats did not get away from them as they hunted them down. "Me? I'm a Shinto, however as you can tell I'm also part Faunus." This seemed to be the introduction he gave as he didn't continue forward with anymore information, only giving her basic visual data that was apparent.

While walking Skelmar had mentally signaled for his twin to continue with the hunt of the cats so that he could wrap this up and continue with more mission as his current weapon had become inadequate in keeping up with his constant ongoing training. "How about yourself Miss Vicktoria?" He maintained his alertness in looking for the remainder of the cats while they walked in one of the possible last seen locations of a target.

A smile appeared on her lips the moment he took her hand a placed it on his lips. It reminded her of one of those old movies she would catch her mother watching where the men always treated the women as if they were delicate flowers, which she had no issue with as if the right man appeared to sweep her off her feet in such a way she would allow him to. “Hm me? Well, I’m a samurai that uses a bow and I’m somewhat a part of the Rikigaku clan.” She said as they continued to walk down a path which led them to an alley where they saw a cat just sleeping amongst a pile of crates. Looking at the description that was given to her and noticed the cat had a collar with the name cookie, which confirmed that this was one of the cats they were looking for. Making her way over to the cat, she would pet her before picking her up and placing her in the cage Skelmar held. " I say somewhat because my parents would rather me take over the family business than play dress up and go out on random tasks for people too lazy to do the job themselves. Like cat rescue missions." She said before chuckling. While she agreed that these missions were a waste of time she understood that she wasn't in a position to do actual ninja things.

Somewhat in the clan was a weird way for anyone to put it, but naturally he understood since he was in a similar position with the Shinto Clan as some of the higher level clan members still refused to recognize him as Kin not that he care for their opinion they were below him as none of them were born as high up as he was with the Jasasori which meant he would end up advising future clan leaders if a proper relationship was formed. "That sounds like an odd choice of weaponry for a samurai, however to each their own." As the second of the cats were found and captured Vicktoria mentioned things her parents wanted. "However, even if that's what they want is that something you desire?" he would ask her as he had picked up on the difference in her tone of voice, as it seemed similar to how his clan elders wanted him to be nothing but a failure. "I won't disagree people too lazy to find their own do not deserve the joy they bring" Skelmar would mention before heading towards the next possible sighting of their targets.

Meanwhile his twin would be chasing after a cat who seemed to have noticed him through the town in an attempt to catch it. Floating perspectives back to Skelmar he would continue on a previous topic "You're a Genin now, which means you're officially recognized by the Republic to be an adult due to your rank, which means regardless of what your family wants you need to make your own choice. Do you want to continue further into the ranks or retire and run a family business?" Maintaining his pace his stride was that of regal elegance with every way he held himself. Was he of nobility? No he simply held himself to a higher standard to break the mold of the status quo.

No that was most definitely not what she wanted. But she always felt like going against what her parents wanted for her was a bit disrespectful to them as she did understand why they didn’t want her to pursue a career in the shinobi sector of the world when they were much well off than most people in the Republic of Five but all that corporate mumbo jumbo wasn’t for her, you know? She wanted to be more like her uncle. “I can honestly see myself taking over what they had built. My mother is a great scientist while my father is a well-known merchant. I know the ins and outs of their business and I’m able to recreate most of her patents but I just like the idea of being a shinobi. I’m not that skilled or gifted like most of the kids around here but learning about clan stuff from my uncle just interests me more you know? And by the way, there is a subsection of samurai who use bows so it’s more common than you think.” She said with a smile as she caught a random cat licking its paws up in a tree. After having a look at her list she would notice that the cat was actually one of those there were looking for. Thankfully she decided not to wear a skirt today so she would quickly make her way up the tree to retrieve the cat and after a few minutes of coaxing the cat to come with her, she would jump down with cat in hand before placing it inside the cage.

Skelmar let a rare smile form to his face as he listened to his partner on this mission it was clear she didn't have the drive to take over her family's business but still wanted to do as they wanted "You may be able to see it, but is that what you really want? I disagree with the skilled part as we both know if you didn't possess the skill or aptitude for the necessary skill you wouldn't have made it into the academy let alone graduated from it. I wouldn't look down upon what you have built to get where you are." around that time she climbed quickly up the tree proving his point in terms of necessary skill needed. Once she had come down with the cat and placed it inside the cage the last one on the list was running in their direction seemingly to be chased by some invisible force. "Looks like the last one is incoming." as he spoke the cat came within reach as his tail sprung from around his waist carefully whisking up the cat and placing it in the cage de hotel he carried on his back.

"No disrespect to your parents, but you need to find your own path in life. Considering how nimbly you climbed that tree I'd say you possess enough skill to improve on you may just not have had enough proper training with your uncle learning your clan's craft. Don't waste your life letting others dictate which direction you should go even if they are your parents. For if they truly care they will be proud no matter what path you take." Skelmar's word would feel more of something he lived through vs the hollow words of someone who didn't know the struggle fighting against choices made for their life. He simply looked at their list noting that the cats needing to be found were all marked off and all they had to do was make sure they were brought safely to the drop location. "Personally speaking, I would hate to see you waste your talents on something you'll possibly regret then doing as you wish and living to your potential."

He would start heading towards their mission end allowing his partner to keep pace with him easily.

In truth, she had seen a lot of mediocre shinobi leaving the academy but she understood what he was trying to say. She did believe she was probably as good as most of the genin that graduated and could possibly be better if she continued to hone her skills. “Thank you for your kind words they mean a lot to me.” She said with a smile as she was truly grateful for his advice. He was right that it had to be her choice and hers alone and that she needed to do what was right for her regardless of what her parents thought of it. Following him to the drop-off point, they would wait for a few minutes before someone came to pick the cats up before congratulating them on a  job well done. “Well, that went by rather quickly. It was fun though. Hopefully, we can go on another mission soon, hopefully, one with some actual action” She said with a smile before bowing slightly to him before leaving. She had to hurry and get home before they noticed that she was out for too long.

-exit

Nodding towards Vicktoria's direction he spoke up after her while they waited on the team to come to finalize their mission "No need to thank me, It's simply my input and I only hope you take something from it... partner." Skelmar was mostly speaking his mind and wasnt really intending to try to push her in any sort of direction, however he would smile back but is anyone were really paying attention they would be able to notice the smile never reached his eyes even though he looked sincere.

As soon as the transfer team arrived and congratulated their hard, sort of, work he turned back towards his easy to work with partner. While she wasn't anyone who he considered close he still found it easy to work with her. "Feel free to request me any time for a pair up on missions. In fact I wouldn't be opposed to doing another mission tomorrow if you feel up to it." Skel would simply wave off his new partner as she left before heading off thinking of what he would do next, as he still had time before his appointment with the Clan leader. "Maybe I'll do some training or head over to the compound for my second hive."

-exit