[Takahashi Akio]

Nestled within the heart of a dense forest, Takigakure remained veiled from the outside world, its entrance and exits cleverly concealed behind the cascading veil of a majestic waterfall. Within these secretive confines, a series of winding caves served as passageways, connecting the hidden village to the world beyond. It was here, in the dimly lit, echoing chambers of these caves, that Akio stood waiting with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.

The atmosphere in the caves was cool and damp, the constant sound of water reverberating off the walls creating a soothing, rhythmic backdrop. Akio's posture was relaxed yet alert, his eyes scanning the shadowy depths of the cave for signs of the genin team he was to lead on a routine patrol mission. As a more experienced shinobi, these missions were a chance for him to guide and mentor the younger generation, maybe even show off a little.

While waiting, Akio's mind drifted to his recent endeavors in senjutsu training. Lately, he had been dedicating a significant amount of time to honing his sage techniques, and honestly the main reason he was here was because even he needed to eat and pay rent. The training was grueling but fulfilling, he felt like he was currently stuck and honestly he was waiting for some sort of eureka moment, which probably meant a break like this was more productive than doing the same meditation schtick over and over.

These moments of reflection were brief, however, as his primary focus remained on the mission ahead and the responsibility he had towards the genin under his charge. It’d been a hot second since he last had the chance to actually fight, and given the circumstances that likely wasn’t going to change. Either way, he was keen to see how far he’d come in recent years. With a final glance towards the entrance of the cave, he readied himself to greet the genin.

Oborozuki Yuri , Netsu Midori , Netsu Souran , meepington

[Netsu Midori]

Midori seems to be the first to show up, with her outfit announcing her arrival far more readily than if she'd loudly proclaimed herself to have arrived. The eye-catching neon green and contrasting black color of her catsuit are certainly much more visible in the village or the caves near the actual Takigakure than they might be in the more viridescent but shady jungle that surrounds the fake Takigakure. The Genin's eyes are also of more neon green than one would naturally expect, and it seems like she knows it. She flips her silky black hair over her shoulder as she catches sight of Akio, a man she knows outranks her almost as much as the current Takigakure Lord did when they went on a similar mission to scope out the perimeter of the fake village as well. It makes sense that two villages would have two perimeters that need to be protected, and it meant she could just collect more money.

When she finally reaches a socially acceptable distance to greet the famed Lizard Sage, she juts out her right hip and rests her right hand on it, the weapon pouch giving off a very slight noise that was really only audible because of the acoustics of the cave; in nearly any other situation, nobody would have been able to hear the sounds of some of those projectiles lightly moving past one another through the fabric of the pouch. The Hung Gar rings on each of her wrists and her ankles would have shone quite nicely in more direct sunlight, but in the cave system, the metallic shine was more muted, but Midori could already feel the weight of those rings making themselves known on her limbs. She could certainly feel herself getting stronger, and she was certain she was close to a breakthrough herself in her combat capability.

"'Sup?"

[Netsu Souran]

Souran didn't understand the point of this mission. Taki had done all the work to not only put together a fake village but also a series of caves that led to the actual village all in the name of keeping their true home hidden, so why were they needing to check the perimeter? If the aformentioned stuff worked then there was no need for idling about the outsides. A pointed exhale escaped the genin's nostrils as he made his way to the designated meeting spot to rendezvous with the rest of his team, all except their leader for some reason. Apparently some other guy was taking the reigns today but it all seemed a bit much for just a simple patrol mission.

Whatever.

A less than pleased disposition sat firmly on the face of the Netsu as he arrived shortly after his clanmate, eyes swiftly cutting away from her as the boy absentmindedly tugged at his black arm coverings. There was a complicated family history that in truth Midori may have had absolutely nothing to do with perpetuating, but to Souran they may as well have been all against him. But he'd show them.

His attention shifted to the man leading them, a guy he was familiar with in name only and had heard rumors of concerning some weird power he had. He didn't care to ask more about it and simply wanted to get this show on the road so he could get to doing something more important with his day.

"I'm here."


Takahashi Akio Netsu Midori Oborozuki Yuri

[Oborozuki Yuri]

Yuri, as always, knew nothing. She always feels so far away from her teammates, her sensei - and today it wasn't even Etsuko running the show. Some dude she didn't know anything about, except something about lizards? Yuri was feeling a little off about the whole thing - but it was meant to be a simple patrol mission, so what could go wrong?

Last, but not least, Yuri finds her way to the cave's mouth and peers in. Slipping in, surveying the mucky walls and listening to the distant dripping of echoed water on water, Yuri ventures forth until she meets up behind Midori and Souran. A half-smoked cigarette smolders between her lips.

It feels a little awkward here. Yuri shifts her weight from one foot to the other, standing nearly between her two teammates. What was with them? Weren't they family or something? Though, weighing her own family history, maybe sharing a name didn't mean much.

Regardless, Yuri feels no need to be the one to break the tension - it wasn't her job to mediate, or facilitate greetings between them to their temporary sensei. Guardian. Whoever he was to them today, Yuri addresses everyone plainly. "Oi. So..." She sweeps her eyes from side to side, across everyone's faces, then pulls the cigarette from her mouth with an exhale of gray. She watches the cherry as she pinches it onto the ground, and snuffs it with the toe of her boot. "Gang's all here now. Who're you, anyway?"

Her blasé stare comes to rest on Akio as she tucks the half-smoke into the front pocket of her sweater. Her gaze may be dark, but her question is genuine - she was curious about him, about why he was here today in place of their sensei. Was their significance here, or were they randomly assigned to an available ninja?

---

Takahashi Akio | Netsu Midori | Netsu Souran | 305

[Takahashi Akio]

As the genin arrived one by one at the cave entrance, Akio greeted each of them with a casual smile and a nod of acknowledgment. Netsu Midori was the first to arrive, and he gave her a friendly nod as she entered the cave. Her figure caught his attention briefly. He couldn't help but appreciate the curvaceous silhouette, though he quickly refocused his thoughts on the mission at hand. Then came Netsu Souran, and Akio offered him the same welcoming nod. Finally, Oborozuki Yuri arrived, exuding an air of indifference that didn't go unnoticed.

Yuri's question cut through the silence, and her directness earned a faint chuckle from Akio. He leaned casually against the cave wall, his demeanor relaxed. "Yeah, alright, so I'm Akio, and I guess you could say I'm filling in for Etsuko today. I’m no one special, just a colleague of Etsuko’s." He shrugged, not taking offense at her straightforwardness.

He then crouched down nonchalantly, bit his thumb, and weaved the necessary hand signs before patting the ground next to him and summoning his companion Koza, a small but spry lizard with a contemplative look in his beady eyes. The lizard emerged in a puff of smoke before climbing up on Akio's outstretched hand and finding his way under the young sage’s hood. "And this is Koza. He's got a keen nose, so he'll be helping us sniff out any potential issues as we patrol the perimeter."

With a smile to the group, who had now settled around him, "If anything unusual or suspicious comes up, don't hesitate to take the initiative. We're a team so just make sure everyone is aware if you see something. This is more of an exercise for you to train and learn things like threat awareness and communication, I doubt anyone outside this cave could even really find the village without some major information leak."

Akio gestured towards the waterfall with one hand before inviting them to follow, "Lets get going then, team. If you have any more questions, i can answer them outside while we patrol” The young sage stuffed his hand back into his pocket and led the way through the cascading water that was providing a natural cover for their exit. As they emerged on the other side, he’d make sure all the genin got out before walking across the water to the nearby shore, guiding them through the jungle based on the small lizard tugging at his hair. He knew that this mission might seem routine, but it was always important to pay attention just in case things went awry. With that, he led the way deeper into the jungle, his senses attuned to any potential threats and Koza ready to assist in their mission.

Oborozuki Yuri , Netsu Midori , Netsu Souran , meepington

SPOILER: Click to show

I for some reason didn't realize everyone had posted and thought we were still waiting on kata. lol i'll have meep come in at the end of this rotation. We might go a few posts over the mission minimum just cause there are 4 people on the mission. XD

Name: [Koza]
Element: N/A.
Type: Lizard
Rank: C
Appearance: [X]

Koza is small, green lizard with brown-like tones & black scales on it's backside. He's incredibly small, but also decently long. Having a height of less than two inches, and a length of 24.

Personality:

Cool, calm, and collected mute. Koza does not talk, and simply listens. You'll never see a change of expression on him, and he's dutiful to a fault. He's more than willing to die in the line of duty, and albeit he shows no reaction, he's highly fiery when it comes to performing tasks.

Abilities:

[Tracker]: Koza has an intense sense of smell. This is his greatest and most emphasized capability. He can use his olfactory sense to smell the directional position of an individual for [100 Kilometers]. With this, he can also alert his summoning of his general location.

[Travel Speeds]: Koza can travel quickly, beyond quickly, rivaling elite speeds, and can maintain that for long period of time. However, much of this is useless due to his lack of defensive and offensive capabilities, but he's a tracker through and through.

[Netsu Midori]

If Midori notices the way Akio is glancing at her, she doesn't show any reaction. Perhaps she's started mellowing just a little and is no longer quite so quick to physically assault others. Or at least, not so quick to physically assault people who are obviously stronger than she is, and with Akio being an esteemed and somewhat famed ninja with Takigakure, she's not about to try and find out why he's so famous. He also starts off his introduction, once Midori's two teammates arrive, by mentioning Etsuko by name, which instantly brings Midori from a mood that exudes the same sensation as watching a cat raise its back and fluff its fur out to something more similar to a cat sitting and staring expectantly. The summoning technique is a bit of a surprise, and the puff of smoke makes Midori blink. Thankfully, the summon is a small one, although she still recoils just a little from the sight of it as it crawls up to Akio's hood.

"Oh..."

Another one-word statement from Midori. It might give people the impression that she had very few words, when in reality, she just didn't much like lizards or many other things that crawl all that much. It didn't help that she was obviously not allowed to crush this particular crawling thing, which was her natural inclination. Instead, she listens to Akio's orders, with the mission being more about training for threat awareness and communication, both skills that Midori found quite tedious compared to how she'd been training under Hotarubi until that point. But then again, those missions had been more about combat effectiveness, which Midori certainly was. With the higher-level ninja giving them the go-ahead to begin the mission, and she leaps through the waterfall, prepared for combat in a ready stance. Unfortunately, with no immediate threats that she can tell, there's little for her to beat down. After letting Akio take the lead, she follows after, with her eyes glaring out to the right side of the group.

[Netsu Souran]

The third and final of their genin team strolled in perhaps even more nonchalantly than Souran had which was a feat in itself but as she spoke while stamping out her cigarette it was a clear indication that it was time to get a move on, but not before this dude fully explained just who he was. The genin didn't really care why their normal sensei wasn't around today and it'd be a cold day in hell before the young Netsu committed Akio's name to memory, but as the older man took some time to summon a lizard companion it did make one of Souran's brows raise in curiosity. The boy wasn't all that well versed on the concept of summoning and contracts and stuff like that but the ability to call in an animal to aid you in battle did interest him; but only if it was more powerful looking than the thing Akio had just summoned.

Listening to the man go into more detail about the purpose --not necessarily the goal-- of their mission was annoying. If they came across anything then they should have dealt with it, talking would only waste time. Souran wanted this to go simply enough so he could go about his day but if the situation called for action then he'd do just that, talking be damned. With a gesture the group would make their way through the falls and out into the jungles of Bonchi no Kuni. Thick and exotic flora covered the ground and seemed to sprout and hang from every tree around them, while the calls of various fauna filled the air. It was a country as dangerous as it was beautiful and becoming stronger as a shinobi was paramount for not just surviving in the ninja world but also this place they called home.

To that end Souran would keep his eyes peeled for anything that looked out of place or any potential threats to which he felt confident in handling alone. The others, maybe not Akio but definitely the others, would no doubt get in his way or at worst be collateral damage.


Takahashi Akio Netsu Midori Oborozuki Yuri meepington

[Oborozuki Yuri]

His warm chuckle is relieving, and he indeed states who he is and his business here. Yuri is satisfied - no deeper meaning, nothing out of the ordinary. Just a mission, and the available ninja to do it. The redhead nods thoughtfully, though blinks unceremoniously as their temporary conductor summons a friend. Truthfully, Yuri liked animals - bugs and reptiles alike - and the prospect of summoning one at your whim was intriguing to her. Though her expression doesn't shift, as it hardly ever does, milky brown eyes swim with enthusiastic admiration as she watches Koza respectably. Part of her wanted to greet the slithering beast like it's a fifth addition to the team, but she refrains, instead hanging back and listening as he briefs them on the few details and expectations surrounding this mission. Survey and communicate; easy enough.

Yuri falls in step behind them, taking up the caboose as the team sets out through the waterfall and into the dense jungle. It smells wet and earthy, and foliage crawls all around them. It's almost hard to navigate through, if not for the trails and weaves they can take. Yuri watches her step as they plod along, but her eyes are sweeping the playing grounds. She wasn't super confident in her ability to take the initiative, but she was a good scout, and a good sport.

For now, she is silent.

[Sprinkles]

    For all the acoustics the cave gave way to, it didn't manage to pick up every sound. The steps, jingles, and voices of the shinobi that entered were certainly heard, reverberating, and hanging thick inside the cave as if there were no other sounds not attributed to water in quite some time. The greedy cave soaked it in, all except for that of one, and one that they group didn't seem to take note of for one reason or another.

    The shadows certainly hid the physical well enough, and maybe it was the four being distracted with one enough that missed a step here and there, but as far as they knew for now, it was just them. Step after step, word after word, except for one lone sound behind them; a bell, jingling quietly metal against metal, only once. Once more it was silent, and if they hadn't heard it the first time, then they wouldn't hear it a second. The third however came from in front of them, much louder, perhaps intentionally so, the distinct sound of two metal balls attached to a thick string, shaking once more.

    The sound traveled and bounced off the walls, but it was clearly in front of them, or at least until it came from behind them once more, not a similar sound but the exact same sound. It was as if someone had managed to remove the sound from reality, make a copy of it, and play it back to them in the same tone, amount of time, but from a different direction. After the fourth time there wasn't a fifth, everything was silent except the sounds they heard and were making prior to it, no bells, no footsteps, just themselves.

[Takahashi Akio]

As Akio and the group ventured forth from the cave, the cacophony of their movements reverberated against the walls, creating a symphony of sounds that echoed through the cavernous space. The ambient noise of their footsteps and hushed conversations filled the air, blending seamlessly with the natural echoes of dripping water and shifting rocks.

Yet, amidst the familiar sounds that came with leaving the hidden entrance to the village, a subtle jingle pierced through the atmosphere, barely registering among the echoes. At first, it seemed like a mere anomaly, easily dismissed amidst the flurry of activity. However, as the jingle persisted, its enigmatic nature became apparent, stirring a sense of unease with Akio.

Akio's senses sharpened as he attempted to discern the source of the sound, his gaze scanning the shadows for any signs of movement. The jingle seemed to dance around them, shifting from one direction to another with eerie precision, as if taunting their perceptions. With each repetition, the sound grew more ominous, its rhythmic cadence echoing through the cavern like a haunting melody. Akio exchanged glances with the genin, silently acknowledging the peculiar nature of their situation.

As the echoes faded into silence once more, Akio remained vigilant, his instincts on high alert. Despite the absence of immediate danger, the lingering echoes of the jingle lingered in the air as the group emerged from the cave's hidden entrance. Akio's instincts prompted him to halt their progress just outside the cavern's mouth. Sensing something amiss amidst the echoes, he gestured for the genin to stop and take a moment to observe their surroundings.

"Wait a moment," Akio's voice was firm, with a subtle command for caution. He turned slightly, his gaze scanning the dimly lit expanse of the cave's interior, then casting a vigilant look towards jungle that lie just outside the cave exit. It was odd that something could happen so close to the hidden entrance of the village, usually they would get deeper into the jungle before running into something like a boar or bandit.

With a gentle touch, Akio reached up to pat Koza, the small lizard perched atop his head. "Koza, do you sense anything out there?" he murmured softly, his words directed more to the creature than to his human companions.


Oborozuki Yuri , Netsu Midori , Netsu Souran , Sprinkles

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: [Koza]
Element: N/A.
Type: Lizard
Rank: C
Appearance: [X]

Koza is small, green lizard with brown-like tones & black scales on it's backside. He's incredibly small, but also decently long. Having a height of less than two inches, and a length of 24.

Personality:

Cool, calm, and collected mute. Koza does not talk, and simply listens. You'll never see a change of expression on him, and he's dutiful to a fault. He's more than willing to die in the line of duty, and albeit he shows no reaction, he's highly fiery when it comes to performing tasks.

Abilities:

[Tracker]: Koza has an intense sense of smell. This is his greatest and most emphasized capability. He can use his olfactory sense to smell the directional position of an individual for [100 Kilometers]. With this, he can also alert his summoning of his general location.

[Travel Speeds]: Koza can travel quickly, beyond quickly, rivaling elite speeds, and can maintain that for long period of time. However, much of this is useless due to his lack of defensive and offensive capabilities, but he's a tracker through and through.

[Netsu Midori]

Midori is unaware of any noises beyond the noises of their own traversal as they make their way through the cave systems of Takigakure that separate their very hidden ninja village from the outside world. At the very least, their noises drown out and mask what is actually being said, at least unless spoken directly to, as the echoes reverberate and bounce back over the stone a few moments after the statement is made. She's a bit surprised when Akio suddenly motions for them to stop, and his order to wait a moment seems to cut through the noises they were once making. Really, though, the order to stop simply coincided with their less-than-silent travel no longer bouncing against all the cave walls, silencing the echoes. Now, though, Midori can actually hear the strange new noises, and she frowns at the mystery of it, but says nothing.

The black haired kunoichi can just barely hear Akio murmuring something and she can see him reaching up to the top of his own head, and she simply assumes he's speaking to his lizard companion while she's busy making sure the Hung Gar rings are nice and tight around her ankles and wrists, though she does so silently. Once she's certain they're totally secure and won't be bouncing against her arms or one another, she readies herself for what might end up being combatants. Her hands are brought together, already forming the initial handseal in preparation for one of her most used techniques. Her Atsuki Ken has served her well up until this point, and she figures it'll be good enough to take out most other attackers with a good hard walloping. Her neon green eyes don't seem to be able to make out anything in the darkness of the cave, so she's forced to wait and see what the lizard senses, along with the others. And waiting makes her nervous.

[Netsu Souran]

There wasn't much of note to take write home about so early in their patrol except for Souran's desire to be done with this so he could do something else. He would have been surprised if there was anything so close to the falls that chose to cause trouble but given the sounds of rushing water and even their own footsteps it didn't take much to drown out quieter sounds. Because of that the first couple rings of the bell went unnoticed by the genin, hell, the group as a whole and it wasn't until their de facto leader for the day gave them the signal to halt did Souran catch wind of the noise.

His eyes went focused forward to try and track the sound yet saw nothing. He snapped his head around when the ring of the bell came from behind them next, yet still there was nothing outside of his teammate. A less than pleasant look etched its way onto the Netsu's face as someone or something was trying to toy with them. Souran despised tricks and had a good mind to send blasts of air around them to flush out whatever was causing the sound, but with it seemingly coming from all around he wasn't quite sure where to hit first.

Akio would speak some hushed words to his small lizard companion and so Souran would wait for further instruction, his hands at the ready to dish out punishment as soon as the word came. "Tch, parlor tricks. Pure cowardice."

[/font][/div]

[Oborozuki Yuri]

At the caboose of the pack, Yuri hears the faint jingling first. The shadows cast eerie entities over the carved stone, and the closer to the mouth of the cave they get, the more jarring and secretive these shadows are. Yuri's expression is blank, mostly unfazed by the horrors she perceives in the darkness, but that jingling worries her. Like a bell stuck to the inside of her ear, not actually echoing down the natural corridors.

She had stopped for just a moment, squinting her eyes toward the way which they came from just moments ago. Then she starts ahead again, sticking a bit closer to Midori and Souran this time.

The jingling continues, and she opens her mouth to finally say something - only for Akio to bring them to a still at the entrance to the jungle. Blinking, she looks one way and then the other, out and in, then to each of her three comrades. Her eyes flick to Souran as he calls it parlor tricks, and Yuri is forced to halfway agree. Part of her thinks an enemy ought to just show themself - another part of her knows that this very well could be a predator playing with its prey.

"I think it's Genjutsu," she says plainly, eyes retracing their steps again.

[Sprinkles]

    The noise had faded by now, leaving them standing, looking confused, and perhaps a little silly if anyone were to come upon them looking around for the sound. It was certainly easy for the mind to fill in the blanks when there was nothing to be found but said blanks, swinging at ghosts, looking for clues, assuming the worst even. There were no interesting smells except for the faintest of lingering scents of someone, but it was near gone by this point, no footprints which could mean a lot or absolutely nothing, and for as long as they stood there waiting for an ambush there was none. A breeze from somewhere, perhaps far more unusual than the bells themselves seemed to trigger the ringing again, this time right above their heads, and any amount of light and a bit of a look straight up would find their mystery seemingly solved.

    There was a thin rope, almost to the point of string held to the ceiling of the cave by a row of poorly crafted shuriken, and every few feet a single bell. The rope lead out towards where they were already heading, and the end of it, if they followed it all the way out, would be found hanging down to their left. It didn't seem to be a trap at first glance, and there was no one there, and it was definitely too high for any wandering animals to get caught on it, but what was it doing there? There was a single footprint, fairly large and seemingly booted, and near half of a second, then nothing.

    Someone had clearly been here, but the question was if they still were, and why? What was the point of the bells? Assuming they had followed the rope to the other side of this cave, standing right by the end of the rope, they would have heard the bells once more, and clearly they had just came from that direction so they would be well aware there was no one back there. What they were sure of was yet again, there was a single cold breeze, chilled even.

[Takahashi Akio]

Akio's senses were on high alert as he processed the strange sequence of events unfolding around them. The mysterious jingle had faded into the recesses of the cave, leaving the group standing in bewildered silence. His mind raced with possibilities, trying to make sense of the inexplicable sounds that seemed to defy logic. Yuri wasn’t wrong, it could certainly be a low rank genjutsu involving some bells.

As the breeze stirred once more, triggering the ringing of bells directly above them, Akio's eyes casually moved upward with a sigh to reveal the source of the enigmatic noise. A thin rope adorned with poorly crafted shuriken and small bells dangled from the cave ceiling, leading out towards their intended path. The sight was perplexing, raising more questions than answers. It could just be a prank, or it could be something more serious.

Frowning in contemplation, Akio examined the rope and its curious arrangement, noting the absence of any immediate threat. Yet, the presence of the makeshift contraption hinted at a deliberate intent. On top of that, Koza seemed to not be picking up any immediate threats, otherwise he would have tugged on the young sage’s hair to alert him of their position.

As the silence stretched, broken only by the faint chiming of the bells, Akio thought for a moment longer before finally addressing the group, Akio's voice was calm but tinged with a little bit of annoyance. "Sorry about that. I’m just way too paranoid. At worst it’s probably just some prank.” The words hung in the cave as the jounin reached up and tore down the strings that were poorly attached to the ceiling. He quickly wound up the thread adorned with bells around his left hand as he made his way towards the exit of the cave.

Akio would casually point out the boot prints to the genin as they finally left the cave, "And one and a half boot prints heading towards the wall outside the cave. They probably put this here and went up.” Akio would gesture with his right hand, which wasn’t wrapped with bell adorned wires, "If a shinobi with real ill intent got this close to the main entrance of the village without being detected anyways, this definitely wouldn't be an issue for genin to tackle. So we should probably just head out.” Akio would chuckle a little bit as he kept walking, finally taking the team out of the cave and into the jungle around the village as intended assuming they trusted his judgement.

Regardless of the situation, he’d pay attention to Koza who would tug at his hair if any presences randomly appeared or started approaching the group, which would give Akio a bit of a head start if something started going down and he completely misread the situation.



Oborozuki Yuri , Netsu Midori , Netsu Souran , Sprinkles

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: [Koza]
Element: N/A.
Type: Lizard
Rank: C
Appearance: [X]

Koza is small, green lizard with brown-like tones & black scales on it's backside. He's incredibly small, but also decently long. Having a height of less than two inches, and a length of 24.

Personality:

Cool, calm, and collected mute. Koza does not talk, and simply listens. You'll never see a change of expression on him, and he's dutiful to a fault. He's more than willing to die in the line of duty, and albeit he shows no reaction, he's highly fiery when it comes to performing tasks.

Abilities:

[Tracker]: Koza has an intense sense of smell. This is his greatest and most emphasized capability. He can use his olfactory sense to smell the directional position of an individual for [100 Kilometers]. With this, he can also alert his summoning of his general location.

[Travel Speeds]: Koza can travel quickly, beyond quickly, rivaling elite speeds, and can maintain that for long period of time. However, much of this is useless due to his lack of defensive and offensive capabilities, but he's a tracker through and through.