The Stubborn Mouse: Exodus Traveling Topic

Friday 6:30am. The camp was quiet and the group was fast asleep. Every member dosing off to dreamland except Byamba. DOOM! DOOM! The loud sounds of drum beats echoing through the silence. “Yup!  Y’all know that sound means.No, that ain’t me clapping your mama’s cheeks. It’s wake up time! “ He’d then parade the noise through the rookie’s tents.

The other members of the inner circle just got up without complaints. They’d wash their faces and pack up their belongings as well as their tents. The rookies also known as Exodus were not so quick on these things. Especially Elias, he’d wake up and fall back asleep. Byamba had to dump some water on his face to keep him up for the final time. When he was up, he barely moved.

He washed his face slow, he packed his tent and belongings even slower . It took them a whole hour after their rising for Elias to be done packing. The inner circle would stare at him and anyone else who was slow to pack with utter disappointment. Finally, Tieros spoke. “Ohoho Cuzzo you’re slow as fuck! If the enemy had planned to ambush us in our sleep; we’d be dead, Oho. You got to do better”.

Elias just remained silent. He’s really not a morning person. The group would begin to head out, and as they do Syn would turn to them and explain why they’re moving today. “You all are growing quicker than we’d like to admit. Granted, there’s still much to improve. You no longer question our orders. I perceive that’s signs of growth. I shall tell you of a story to help ease the travels.” The other members would groan at the thought of Syn’s story telling.

It wasn’t that his story telling was bad, but that they were just not in the mood for it. Nonetheless, Syn would tell it anyway. “This is the story of the stubborn mouse. There once was a mouse who lived amongst a community of mice. They lived together happily until their home was raided by a massive snake. The snake devoured as many mice as he could until his stomach was full and left. The stubborn mouse and his community of mice knew that the serpent would return. Most of the community wanted to run, some wanted to fight. The stubborn mouse wanted to fight and against their better judgement, he convinced the community to fight. They armed themselves to the teeth and as they suspected the serpent returned to fill its belly.

This time, things didn’t go according to plan. With much difficulty the snake managed to devour one mouse but the community of mice overcame the serpent. They gutted the serpent and freed the mouse inside him. As a warning to all they decorated their village walls in the snakes body. For a time they lived happily again, but some were not as happy as others. The decor reminded them of those who were lost and the dangers that can befall them if they aren’t careful. Those mice petitioned to move the community elsewhere. Somewhere new, somewhere safe. By this time, the stubborn mouse was a hero amongst mice and now respected by all as their king. He did not want to leave, why would he leave? They were safe behind these walls, they were safe together.  One year passed and the village was under attack. At the height of their prosperity, a den of snakes came and tore every member of that community limb from limb. The stubborn mouse now turned stubborn king was wrong . Now he and everyone else is dead.”

Elias listened to the story not truly understanding the point. “Anyone else lost in this? “

With Jin fully prepared for the travels ahead, the Exodus leader was probably the most tense in regards to their first big mission. There was a couple of reasons for this, with one of them being that a mistake could ensure that this could be their last mission if he isn't careful. But he did mature, he did believe in his team and didn't try to overextend the number of responsibilities that he had on the field. He wasn't super Jinnouchi, he couldn't do everything. But by acknowledging those flaws, Jin believed that he was able to improve with his abilities.

That morning, besides preparing everything that he needed, Jin was practicing his throws. He was the early bird this time around, unable to sleep due to the tension that he was feeling.

"Good morning everyone."

The first order of business was to greet his team and make sure everyone else was good. Their feelings and emotions mattered to him, and how they were carrying themselves during this time also mattered to him. This wasn't like the training session they had last time, there would be no do-overs to speak of. He also listened to the story that Syn was saying.

"The moral of the story is that we shouldn't overextend our victories. With every little win that we get, we must adapt and appropriate the proper tactics to ensure our survival. Running was a great alternative, but to stay and fight, I believe it was wise since the snake could track the mice. Once the threat was gone, running away would have been the best option in order to avoid revenge or retaliation. Basically, what it means is that after we complete our mission and get what we came for, we need to go. "

With Jin fully prepared for the travels ahead, the Exodus leader was probably the most tense in regards to their first big mission. There was a couple of reasons for this, with one of them being that a mistake could ensure that this could be their last mission if he isn't careful. But he did mature, he did believe in his team and didn't try to overextend the number of responsibilities that he had on the field. He wasn't super Jinnouchi, he couldn't do everything. But by acknowledging those flaws, Jin believed that he was able to improve with his abilities.

That morning, besides preparing everything that he needed, Jin was practicing his throws. He was the early bird this time around,  unable to sleep due to the tension that he was feeling.

"Good morning everyone."

The first order of business was to greet his team and make sure everyone else was good. Their feelings and emotions mattered to him, and how they were carrying themselves during this time also mattered to him. This wasn't like the training session they had last time, there would be no do-overs to speak of.  He also listened to the story that Syn was saying.


"The moral of the story is that we shouldn't overextend our victories. With every little win that we get, we must adapt and appropriate the proper tactics to ensure our survival. Running was a great alternative, but to stay and fight, I believe it was wise since the snake could track the mice. Once the threat was gone, running away would have been the best option in order to avoid revenge or retaliation. Basically, what it means is that after we complete our mission and get what we came for, we need to go.  "

Compare to when she first joined exodus, she had changed for the most part, sure she realized she wasn't that horrible at being a strategist; However it wasn't a choice career for someone with her skills of relaxing and sleeping. She slowly staggered to the group meeting spot after hearing the story of the stubborn mouse, her wrist tightly gripping the blanket that was wrapped around her whole body and protected her hair and sink from the early morning UV rays. "It means if you're going to start a fight, might as well make it a war" she jested slowly creeping up behind elias and jin.