Yamanaka Ino (Iris)

It didn’t seem to matter that, when they’d woken up in a tangled grouping of hands and legs and eyes and smiles that touched their eyes until they’d woken up enough that the smiles stopped hitting their eyes, that they hadn’t really spoken at all as they’d gotten dressed.

As they’d headed down into town to pick up something for breakfast—they hadn’t really even glanced at the kitchen in the cabin—they still kept mostly to their silence, though he held her hand as they walked.

Or she held his. Ino wasn’t really sure if that distinction mattered. Either way, neither of them was letting go of the other.

It wasn’t a conscious decision either to head out to the preserve once food in neat brown bags had been obtained.

It wasn’t conscious, but she wasn’t going to complain as they walked deeper and deeper into the trees. Ino liked trees, she liked Zack, and she liked breakfast. The silence was just something that had happened. They’d work it out.

She glanced sidelong and up at him, blue eyes worried. Her smile had faded into something more serious. Last night had been only part of it. He’d needed last night. (He’d scared her last night.)

Ino didn’t know what this would bring, out here, with breakfast and him. Just that it happening was the only thing that made sense to her. A weird and twisted snarl of emotions curled in her mind and Ino thought it couldn’t be anything as bad as how he felt. That wasn’t comforting.

[For the one whose hand she won’t let go of.]

Ino was very dubious indeed at the moment.

It was bad enough that she'd woken up in the same room with a boy. (Even if she happened to like that boy.) Bad enough that he'd had cooler slippers than she'd had. Bad enough that all her weapons had been turned into toys.

But Zack had a smile on him, and was pretty cute (for a boy), and he shared his magic marble things with her. Jump had been a lot of fun, really.

She still didn't believe him when he claimed his toy sword could summon things, though. Ino spun and came to a stop in a clearing in the preserve. "Far enough in!" she declared, because clearly things like this couldn't just be shared where anyone could see. "Now you've got to show me. I'm watching you."

Half hoping he'd fail so she could lord it over him. And half hoping he'd manage it because that would be the best thing ever.

[For the weetiny puppy!]

Ino's comprehension of Christmas didn't run much past shiny presents and such but she definitely had the looking like a kid on Christmas morning thing down pat as she half-danced half-bounced her way into the preserve with Zack after the dishes had shooed them out of Café Fina for the day.

And admiring her shiny armlet with her shinier Thunder materia in it. It wasn't technically a Christmas present, but it was the best present ever.

She was going to get to do magic!

There was nothing cooler than that. Well. Except for the next two weeks, uh huh.

"So," she said, grin evident in her eyes, her voice, her bounce, her face. "How does this work?"

[For the modded with permission puppy only, please!]

The preserve, really, ought to have been fully dark considering how late it was, but Ino had brought a few portable lanterns and set them up around the perimeter of the clearing. She wore short sleeves despite the cold, and had her cards on her. Getting the kunai from the locker would’ve been too much hassle with everything else.

In her hands was a scroll and she was idly tossing it from one hand to the other as she waited for Reno. Because that was totally the way you treated quality literature. Of course.

The knapsack she had slung over one low hanging branch contained two other scrolls and she left them where they were for now.

[For the partner-in-crime, please!]

Ino was tired after yesterday, but had made herself get up at four, eat, and make it out to the preserve before sunrise.

At least it wasn't raining today? That would've made this whole thing even more... interesting.

Rather than just stand around and wait for her to show up, Ino set to stretching, being extra careful today to do it properly.

[For one, please! And SP until later this afternoon zomg.]

Ino… didn’t want to go back to the town. But she couldn’t think of a way to miss work and not have it be seen simply as giving up.

She leaned against her tree, nibbling on a granola bar, and studying the dark forest. Seeing was a challenge, but she knew the location well enough by now that it didn’t really matter how much or little she could see.

If it changed, she would notice.

“I’ll be back,” she said, glancing up at her tree. “I’m not done thinking.”

She’d done enough though, that Ino was fairly confident in her ability to keep her temper for the next two days. If she hadn’t come to any solid conclusions, well, that was alright. She didn’t have to. There was no rule saying things needed to be set in stone.

Finishing the granola bar, tucking the wrapper away, Ino flung herself back into her own private battle. Low on sleep, low on food, concentration forced to sharpen--shoved on by her determination--Ino set herself to working through her problems again.

Was there even a conclusion? Or did it all just keep moving on, and she had to go with it?

She’d fight until dawn then, and head back to town. For a little while. To keep up appearances.

[Establishy.

Finally... silence.

She’d made it through all three classes, faking it, smiling--and yes, she was going to enjoy all three of those classes--as soon as she could convince Logan that she really wasn’t interested in being the best in flowers when she had other more useful skills to hone, and as soon as she figured out a way to properly ignore that, ugh, that Temari bitch. Who do you think you are?

( Me. Just me. )

Okay. Okay. She wouldn’t. Every step, every twist, every scratch of a branch--Too damn slow! Be more observant!--let her think.

She needed to this. Wanted this. Shut up and just think.

[Establishy.]