A Day on the Plains. [Missions and Training. Artemis or Invite.]

Spread the Medicine. D-Rank:

Spike the Water Sources. C-Rank:

Wolverines. B-Rank:

This was going to be an interesting day. He wasn't on duty at the center, but he was going to be out on the plains and borderlands running missions related to his normal work. Interesting overlaps, his life had. He figured that if he was going to be out there, he'd take Artemis a long; the jobs where easy, and it'd be a good chance for her an Fa Mulan to both bond, and get used to working together. Between the four of them, they'd get done really quickly, maybe even done in time for a late lunch. It was a bit late in the morning, so he really didn't expect to be back that early, but you never know. It was possible, anyway.

He'd left the note for her to find when she got up; her staying with him made things easier after all. He'd only left so early because he needed to pick up the supplies for the missions; they where stored at the center anyway, so instead of going the ass backwards way of going to the mission room and having them send for it, he just picked it up himself. Not like he didn't have a key and clearance to do it, after all. Save the paperwork and time.

She was supposed to meet him at the edge of the village, on the main road, and they'd go from there. The area he'd signed them up to work in wasn't that far out, so they'd get there pretty fast once she arrived. In his note he'd mentioned that she shouldn't bring too much gear with her, they needed to move quickly and traveling light made that easier. Even if trouble arose, Karukaya and Coen's primary weapons where their gloves, fist, and feet, so they'd be well prepared to defend her if it came down to it.

He was leaning against a large tree just off the road, enjoying the shade while Coen picked at wild flowers, trying to coax the dragonflies and such hiding among them to come out and play. There they waited, his note said to meet them in about 10 minutes, so he was in no rush.

WC: 380

100/100 D-Rank Spread the Medicine

250/250 C-Rank Spike the Water Sources

30/500 B-Rank Wolverines

Artemis had woken up early then she often did: now that she had someone outside of her self to take care of she found herself acting more 'adult' like. Waking up earlier instead of sleeping until noon, controlling her temper far better than she had before, and thinking twice before acting in her day to day decisions. Fa Mulan had definitely caused Artemis to 'grow up' in a manner of speaking, and it wasn't a bad thing at all. She was quite pleased with her decision and the fact that she had stood up to her parents instead of allowing them to bully her into giving up Fa Mulan. She had made the right decision in keeping her and moving out, and she knew it.

When she had found Karukaya sensei's letter she couldn't help but grin: this was a chance for her and Fa Mulan to do some more bonding, as well as a chance to go on a mission with her sensei.

“Come on, Fa Mulan. We've got to get ready to go; sensei has some missions for us to do.”[/color], she said as she gently nudged the monkey awake. Fa Mulan, thankfully, woke up relatively quickly after that – she was excited for a chance to go on another mission, and had no intentions of passing it up. Fa Mulan's own enthusiasm had Artemis moving faster then she often bothered to in the morning.

Artemis kept in mind as she readied herself to pack light: Karukaya sensei wouldn't have said such if there wasn't a reason behind it after all. She ensured she had her basic kunai and shuriken in the pouch around her right leg, and a very small sashal bag that was exceptionally light weight and which contained basic items for Fa Mulan. Dressed, having eaten, and ready, and the pair were out the door with Fa Mulan hanging from Artemis back, her arms around Art's neck loosely.

Thankfully, they had plenty of time to spare, allowing them to arrive at the designated spot with nine minutes to spare. As they came to a stop Fa Mulan let out a happy screech of a greeting.

Word Count: 364
Spread the Medicine: 364 / 100
Spike the Water Sources: 264 / 250
Wolverines: 14 / 500

Ah, there they were. Early, too; good, good. He preferred to be a bit early himself, unless it was a social situation where it was more appropriate to show up a tad after the agreed upon time. For work and such, earlier was better unless otherwise told; in his book.

He waved as they walked up, greeting them with his usual manner of casual, "Heya." initially. He'd been past the market earlier, his normal routines and paths took him through it regularly, and he'd seen something that he thought they might like. Nothing fancy, but it was a little 'toy' headband styled after the ones the ninja wore; it was perfect for Fa Mulan to wear until a real one could be ordered for her. "I found this, I thought you might like it.~" He pulled it out of his pocket and offered it to them, it was sized almost perfect, although the ties might be a bit long; the cloth backing was green, which was a color they didn't use for ninja headbands, but it would work for now. They'd be able to order her one pretty soon anyway, so it was no big deal.

Once one of them had taken it, if they did, he moved on to the missions he had in mind. "Now, I figured we'd start off small, nothing too major or difficult. I know you've been doing missions on your own, but I like to start lite and move up, personally. I've been doing stuff like this for so long it's going to take my a bit to adjust to working with a partner that isn't Coen or Temaki, so this is as much for me as it is for you. It'll be easier to figure out a dynamic if we're not risking our lives from the get go. As for what we're doing, well, you like to help animals, and I actually work with them, so these are right out our respective allies. I've arranged to start a new vaccination program out in the wildlands; we're going to be spiking the known water sources and spreading medicated bait around, as well as using new salt licks and such on the plains. There's been an uptick in rabid animals out there, and we're going to get it under control before it spreads to the domestic food herds, or a pet is infected. Simple enough work, but important. Sound good?"

WC: 430

430 + 380 = 830

100/100 D-Rank Spread the Medicine

250/250 C-Rank Spike the Water Sources

460/500 B-Rank Wolverines

A curious look fell upon Artemis' face as she heard Karukaya sensei mention that he had found something he thought they might like. When he pulled out a little toy headband Fa Mulan let out an excited screech. She clambered around Artemis while Artemis laughed. Fa Mulan took it, looked at it, and even sniffed it before letting out another excited screech. ”Thank you, sensei.”, Artemis responded when Fa Mulan's excited screeching had stopped.

Fa Mulan paused in her examination of her new item and looked over to Karukaya. She offered the monkey equivalent of a smile and then attempted to repeat after Artemis, ”Thank.. you..”, she drew the words out, but got them nonetheless. Fa Mulan then looked at Artemis, and poked at Artemis' headband which was tied around her waist: she preferred it there because it didn't get in her way. Fa Mulan made a soft chirping noise as she climbed down from Artemis and stood on the ground. The monkey made quick work of tying her own headband around her waist too; tying it in the front and then turning it so that it was on right. When she was done she jumped up and down in place, excitedly. Fa Mulan was more then ready to go now.~

Artemis couldn't help but nod in agreement with her sensei's idea: doing a non-dangerous task first would give them a chance to actually get used to working together. It'd be far more safer then just diving into a dangerous situation headfirst and letting things happen as they may: especially so since Fa Mulan and her were still also getting the hand of working together – though, they were doing a lot better than their first few days together, that was for sure.

The idea that they'd be helping animals out in the process? Doubled her agreement: anything that helped animals she was all in board with. Especially when it was such a horrible thing as rabies possibly spreading from the wild animals to those needed for food, or pets. Plus, she figured it would make for some great learning experiences with Fa Mulan: she more she had a chance to learn the better she would be off in the long run. ”Sounds good to me.”, Artemis agreed, more then ready to get started.

Fa Mulan let out a screech of approval too, jumping up and down in place several times before climbing back up Artemis' leg and return to her usual perch on Artemis' back. ”Gogogo! Art Art!”

Artemis paused, blinked, and then broke out into the most cheesy grin ever: this was the first time Fa Mulan had actually used her name. Adorable.

Wolverines Word Count: 447 + 17 = 461 / 500

That she was trying to speak so much was telling, pets only grew so long as they where being well taken care of. The imitation was classic primate, but it was also another good sign. It made him happy to see how well they where bonding. "You're welcome, enjoy it.~" From his pack, he removed several smaller sealed bags, each was the medicated vaccine food they'd need to spread around. He handed her two of them; if he'd gotten them the 'normal' way, they would have been opened and the medicine sitting loose in a large sac. Harder to handle, harder to use. This way, they could spread it easier, without risking loosing large amount of it at random.

"Shall we go?" He gave her a moment to answer, and to ask anymore questions if she wanted, then began to move off. They didn't have to go far, and once they reached the right area, he continued with explaining what they needed to do. "Just spread it around like you would breadcrumbs or bird seed; on the open ground, at the base of trees, etc. Not thickly, mind you; don't make piles of it. Spread it as evenly as you can, to cover the most ground. We should be able to cover a few hundred meters with this amount. If you can get it into the trees safely, do so; but don't worry about it if you can't."

WC: 254

254 + 830 = 1084

100/100 D-Rank Spread the Medicine

250/250 C-Rank Spike the Water Sources

500/500 B-Rank Wolverines

234/1500 B-Rank Jutsu Helix Flame Fist

Artemis took the two bags he handed over, looking at them curiously. Even Fa Mulan shifted so that she could look over her shoulder at them, too. They both then turned their attention back onto Karukaya sensei. Artemis nodded that she was ready to go and then Fa Mulan did the same; something that Artemis caught out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile about. It was the little things like this that made her glad that she had made the decision to move out instead of allowing her parents to bully her into doing what they had wanted.

Artemis followed Karukaya sensei, and Fa Mulan remained perched in her usual spot on her back. The pair listened to his instructions closely; they were to spread it around like they would bread crumbs or bird seed, while ensuring not to put too much. The more evenly the stuff was spread the more ground they would be able to cover with it, and if they could get it into the trees safely then that would be good too – but if not then they didn't have to worry about it. It made sense and so Artemis nodded in acknowledgment. ”Got it.”

”Got... it! Got it!” Fa Mulan mimicked.

Grinning Artemis turned her head and looked at Fa Mulan. ”You ready, Fa?”

”Gogogo, Art Art!”, Fa Mulan responded excitedly. Well, that was all the motivation that she needed. Fa Mulan was definitely excited for the chance to get to help with something so important, and it was showing.

Word Count Wolverines: 262 + 467 = 729 / 500

They only had to walk for a few minutes before they reached a small stream; it was the edge of the area they would be working in. A solid, easy to follow border, and it was full of major game trails and the like. "Alrighty. Cross the stream, and get started. Get as close to the next stream as you can, and as far in any other direction. This whole area is going to be covered a few times over, so don't freak out if you find that you're spreading fresh fed over older feed. It's fine if you do; just pick another direction and move along that way. You basically can't go wrong, here."

Coen took a bag of feed from his pack and started working on spreading it around; he was having a blast with this, he loved to feed the birds in the park and whatnot all the time, so this was something he was good at doing. Karu did the same, taking one of the packs and cracking it open, moving up into the tress to cover what he could. He was a master of the supernatural walking technique, and spent a LOT of time up high in trees and such working as a spotter on the plains, so this was natural to him. He could move around these trees without worrying about falling, or breaking a branch standing wrong, or whatever.

WC: 243

243 + 234 = 477/1500 B-Rank Jutsu Helix Flame Fist

Artemis nodded and the pair were across the stream in a single leap. Once there Fa Mulan climbed down to the ground to make it easier for them to work. She handed a bag to Fa Mulan and opened it before opening her own. She took a moment to demonstrate to the monkey what they needed to do, something which Fa Mulan took a moment to mimic perfectly. ”Excellent, that's exactly right. Why don't you do that up in the trees and I'll cover the ground, okay?”

Fa Mulan gave a very obvious nod before carefully climbing up with the bag. As Fa Mulan worked on spreading it through the trees Artemis worked on the ground, trying to spread it as evenly as possible just as Fa Mulan was doing in the trees. The monkey moved flawlessly through what was definitely a natural habitat for her, while Artemis worked quickly to cover the ground below.

Fa Mulan worked from tree to tree as the bag slowly emptied, and Artemis did the same on the ground; following Karukaya sensei's instructions as well as she possibly could to make sure she did her task properly. Every so often she would glance up to check that Fa Mulan was doing her own task correctly: which she too was – along with letting out a series of happy little noises that indicated she was having a grand time doing it. It was quite clear to Artemis that Fa Mulan liked to help, and something like this was absolutely perfect for her.

Word Count: 257 + 229 = 486

Moving through the trees gave him two advantages. First, he could see everything around them, including the animals that where moving through the trails and such. Second, he could make sure that nothing was sneaking up on them. There where still wild boars and wolves in the area, and the chances of running into a rabid or feral specimen was high, and he didn't want to risk Artemis' safety. Coen was farther into the forest, near where it began to thin out into the plains. He needed more room to move than any of them, because of his large legs and different movement style. Hopping was hard in a dense forest.

Karu was doing double duty here, his scouting was needed before they moved on from this, and he was able to scatter several bags worth of feed over a massive area due to his higher perch. He was basically doing triple duty for this mission, they where covering an entire small forest really. He realized he was running low on his bags, and figured that Art might be too, so he called down from a tree about 10 meters away, "You need more feed yet, Artemis? I've got a few more bags, if you need more."

WC: 212

212 + 477 = 689/1500 B-Rank Jutsu Helix Flame Fist

At Karukaya sensei' question she looked down at her bag and saw that it was indeed almost empty: she likely would run out in only two or three more handfuls at the most. So, pin pointing where her sensei's voice had come from she found him a bit of a distance away in a tree – seeming to be right at home like Fa Mulan was. ”Aye, I've got about two or three more handfuls at most left.”, she responded.

Then she looked towards Fa Mulan who was still making great work going from branch to branch, tree to tree, spreading the feed around in the same manner she had been shown. ”Fa Mulan, is your bag nearly empty?” The monkey looked up and over to Artemis before giving a nod. ”Yes, yes! All gone!”, the monkey responded verbally.

”Guess we both need more then.”

Fa Mulan climbed out of the tree she was in after turning over her bag and letting the last few crumbs of feed to fall onto the branch. She kept the empty bag in her hand as she came to a stand still near Artemis. ”I doing good?”, the monkey asked.

Artemis grinned and nodded. ”Yes, yes you are.”

The monkey proceeded to jump up and down several times, letting out an excited screeching noise. ”I doing good! I doing good!”

Artemis chuckled.

Word Count: 230 + 486 = 716

"Alright." He reached into his pack and tossed them two more packs of the medicated feed, "Spread out this and then meet me at the river. We need to move on soon." He'd covered a large area with his bags, and Coen was already finished with his parts and moving on to the next bit. They where going to be adding the medicines to the watering holes in the area, so they had to cover a lot of them to make this effective. Coen would be able to cover at least half of the spots they'd agreed to cover; if it had just been him and Karu they would have been fine; but Karu wasn't going to push Art to cover unfamiliar terrain that hard, or that fast. Plus, he'd been serious when he said he liked to start slow and give them time to learn how to work together; they'd work up to moving at Karu's normal speed in time.

He made sure to cover the last few dozen trees and he was out of feed; so he moved to the river to wait for Artemis and Fa Mulan to finish up.

WC: 205

689 + 205 = 849/1500 B-Rank Jutsu Helix Flame Fist

Artemis took the two bags with a nod and opened them. ”Alright.” She handed one of the bags over to Fa Mulan who was excited to get back to work again, and then picked up and carried her own. The pair got back to work moving quickly now that they were in the groove of the task. Sure enough, it didn't take them long to finish up and then meet Karukaya sensei at the river.

Fa Mulan was jumping up and down in excitement, obviously pleased with being able to help. Artemis just glanced over to her and grinned: her excitement made Artemis happy, so it was a win win. ”I wish I could bottle your energy...”

”Wouldn't fit in a bottle... bottles are too small for Fa Mulan.”

Word Count: 131 + 716 = 847

.oO(Sorry for the shortness, wanted to get this moving since it had been sitting for a bit.)

He made it to the river and met with Coen, taking a few minutes to check in with his partner an make sure things where still going well. "Got it all, son?"

"Yes. I've covered the rest of the area, and started on the river. I should be done right about when you finish."

"Good, good. She should be running out any time now. Any sign of those boars that have been giving our people problems?"

"The game trails are too used, and they're staying on them. They might be in the area, but if they are, they're staying quiet. The only clear sign I can find is some tail tuff stuck in the burrs."

"Wonderful. Stay alert; you and I can handle them, but I don't want to risk Artemis and Fa Mulan getting caught unaware. They could handle one boar, but not the 5 or 6 we've been seeing."

"I can see them handling two or three without too much trouble."

"Maybe, but I'd rather not risk it just yet."

"Understood. I'll circle a bit, then get back to work if I don't find anything."

"Sounds good. I'm waiting for them to finish up and meet back before we move on. Stay safe, Coen."

"Always.~" The 'roo hopped off and disappeared into the underbrush, and Karu stood his ground to wait.

WC: 262

262 + 849 = 1111/1500 B-Rank Jutsu Helix Flame Fist

The pair continued to cover the area they were working: Fa Mulan working high up in the trees while Artemis covered the ground. The pair spread out the medical feed as much as possible, covering as big of an area as possible with what they had while continuing to ensure it was an even spread. Fa Mulan was the first to finish with her latest bag and after climbing down from the tree she had finished in she joined Artemis on the ground. The monkey climbed up her back and hung from her normal perch around her neck with one arm while clutching the empty bag in the other.

She stayed like that as Artemis made quick work of finishing up. When she was done she walked over to the river, joining Karukaya sensei. ”We're finished.”

Fa Mulan nodded in agreement with Artemis' statement and then climbed down her back after releasing her hold from around Artemis' neck. The monkey stood next to Artemis, or rather hopped in place like the excited monkey she constantly was. ”Fa Mulan want to help more!”, the monkey exclaimed excitedly before letting out a series of happy screeches.

Artemis couldn't help but grin: no one would ever be able to claim that the monkey was lazy, that was for sure. She had a work ethic that was far greater then most full grown adults, after all. As Fa Mulan stopped jumping in place she reached up and took Artemis' hand, a habit that she had been forming the past few days – just like a child who would hold their parents hand when out and about. In fact, that was how it had started: her and Fa Mulan had been in the market, she had saw a toddler doing the same thing, and had decided to mimic it. It made Artemis smile more as she waited for their next set of instructions.

Word Count: 320 + 847 = 1,167

"Good, good. Next off, we're going to be treating the watering holes; as I explained before. It's often more effective to treat the water sources than spreading the feed, but doing both basically ensures the maximum coverage of the medicines. Animals that don't eat the particular feed base will ignore it, but they won't ignore the water. The insects and such that feed on the other animals will end up medicated from them. The plants absorb the medicine from the water table, and it spreads even faster. It's actually rather fascinating to learn about the spread of energy within the bio-systems, and using that knowledge to devise the most efficient spread of medications is one of the ways we've managed to maintain such a healthy wild animal population."

From his pack, he produced a small plastic bag similar to the I.V. bag you'd see in the hospitals. Inside of the clear plastic was an almost silvery liquid; it was the concentrated vaccine cocktail they'd be using for this part of the mission. "The basics are simple, here. This vaccine mixture is extremely concentrated; you only need a few drops to cover the average sized pond. The basic rule of thumb is, if it's the size of a backyard swimming pool or smaller, three drops. The size of a water storage cistern, five drops. Rivers and streams get ten. You can adjust this as needed, if something seems to be deeper or larger than it appears. Ignore puddles and the like, just focus on the ponds and lakes and streams and rivers." He passed them two of the bags, then reached back into his pack and removed a spray can filled with the special paints they used to mark trails and the like, "Mark the ground, a tree, or a rock that is adjacent to the water sources you treat; that way we don't end up double dosing and causing problems la-..."

Suddenly, ANBU standing behind him. Joy.

"ANBU-san, is there a problem?"

"Sorry to bother you, Karu; but you're needed back in the village. Something about a steam vent appearing in the large animal enclosure."

Joy.

"Well, there goes my day. Artemis, I'm sorry but I have to handle this. ANBU-san, could you please escort her back into town? I need to get Coen and get to the center as fast as I can."

"Of course. I've already found Coen for you, he's heading in already."

"Oh, thank you then. Excuse me, please."

He left her with the ANBU and the medicine, she'd be able to just bring it up to the center and leave it there for someone else to use. He hated that he had to leave, but they'd need him there to coral and move the herds without them being injured and junk.

-Exit-

WC: 511

511 + 1111 = 1622/1500 B-Rank Jutsu Helix Flame Fist

"Good, good. Next off, we're going to be treating the watering holes; as I explained before. It's often more effective to treat the water sources than spreading the feed, but doing both basically ensures the maximum coverage of the medicines. Animals that don't eat the particular feed base will ignore it, but they won't ignore the water. The insects and such that feed on the other animals will end up medicated from them. The plants absorb the medicine from the water table, and it spreads even faster. It's actually rather fascinating to learn about the spread of energy within the bio-systems, and using that knowledge to devise the most efficient spread of medications is one of the ways we've managed to maintain such a healthy wild animal population. The basics are simple, here. This vaccine mixture is extremely concentrated; you only need a few drops to cover the average sized pond. The basic rule of thumb is, if it's the size of a backyard swimming pool or smaller, three drops. The size of a water storage cistern, five drops. Rivers and streams get ten. You can adjust this as needed, if something seems to be deeper or larger than it appears. Ignore puddles and the like, just focus on the ponds and lakes and streams and rivers. Mark the ground, a tree, or a rock that is adjacent to the water sources you treat; that way we don't end up double dosing and causing problems la-... “

Artemis had been hanging on Sensei Karukaya's every word, saving them all for memory so that the next task would go just as easily and just as simple as this one had – that was, until the sudden appearance of an ANBU member behind him. Fa Mulan – hardly used to such startling arrivals – let out a very unhappy screeching and all but jumped into Artemis' arms. Artemis caught her and hugged the monkey close. ”It's alright, Fa Mulan. It's alright...”, she said quietly, soothing the upset monkey as the ANBU explained to Karukaya sensei that there was some sort of an issue in a large animal enclosure.

When he apologized to her she simply waved her hand and smiled. ”No worries, I understand completely.”, she responded before watching him leave. She then looked towards Fa Mulan, ”Guess we're done early, let's go get you some fruit, kay?” The monkey nodded and shifted to her usual perch on Artemis' back. The pair then followed the ANBU back to the village – a thankfully uneventful trip. Even if they hadn't completely finished the job Artemis still was going to treat Fa Mulan for the good job she had done – the monkey deserved no less after all.

Word Count: 456 + 1,164 = 1,620

Total Mission(s) Payout: 2,470