[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/h5xf31C.png[/img][/center][hr][i][b]//Day 2 | Location:[/b] Nameless Forest - Lakeside[/i]
[sub][@Vertigo][@baraquiel][/sub]
His fist struck wood and ran right through, leaving a fist-sized hole in the trunk. It was an unimaginable level of force to be generating, but the tree itself still stood strong, supported by a network of roots that ran much, much deeper. Stray twigs scattered down, leaves pinwheeling as they were shook off with each mighty blow. His knuckles didn't hurt, and even now, Duncan couldn't feel the [i]refreshment[/i] that came with physical activity.

Somehow, he had become so strong that he was limited by his visualization, rather than by his physique.

Knuckles against wood once more, the pulp of the tree coming away as he drew back his fist. Dimly, he could understand that he was 'chopping down wood'. If he thought about it a bit more, he'd realized that even this, even his ability to tear apart living trees with his hands alone, was still entirely inefficient compared to the blades that Rin could [i]draw[/i] in the air itself. But it mustn't have mattered, not if he continued to punch through wood once more. It was the action, not the result, that mattered. His fist finally punched through to the other side, the length of his entire arm inside the tree. Still, it did not collapse. It was just a fist-sized hole, after all.

[b]"That serves no purpose."[/b]

A voice sounded behind him. Rin. He could choose to ignore it, but he couldn't choose to not hear it.

[b]"I'm going to build a tower,"[/b] she continued, matter-of-factually. [b]"And you can either do nothing, or you can help me."[/b]

[hr][i][b]//Day 2 | Location:[/b] Nameless Forest - Forest Trails[/i]
[sub][@Yankee][@Nakushita][/sub]
It was perhaps the prospect of going anywhere alone with Ayana, with Oros, that proved to be the ultimate deterrent for any other volunteers. There were a couple, Ayane for one, who looked as if they were considering joining, but what was she going to do out in the wilds anyways? Nothing, that was what. And the big game that Masato planned on hunting wasn't anything that the more cat-like of the Ito twins cared to handle anyways. In the end, it was only Hana who approached the duo, handing a rudimentary spear over to the student council president. It'd have just been a nice gesture, if not for the fang-knife affixed to one end.

[b]"I'll keep this brief,"[/b] she began, glancing between the two before her gaze settled upon Masato. [b]"Humans are naturally clumsy and have a habit of moving too evenly. On the approach, move as slowly as possible, stopping if you ever make noise. Be conscious of the direction of the wind at all times. If it's blowing from you to your quarry, reposition yourself. Move at an irregular pace upon approach, mimicking the movements of prey from one bush to another. And keep track of where you've gone. It's too easy to get lost, and..."[/b] Hana pulled out her phone from her pocket. It was still at 80% battery, perhaps because she had shut it off immediately and only turned it on when necessary. Predictably, there was no reception and the time was wrong. However, the Compass app that she had pulled out also was also running haywire. The electronic needle spun in meaningless directions. [b]"...you'll have to trailblaze to find your way back."[/b]

That was all she said, and outside of Mayumi telling Masato that she'd try to keep the rest of the students all together in his absence, the duo parted with relatively little fanfare.

It wasn't an arduous trek, but it was a quiet one. Their enhanced senses picked up the sounds of wildlife in the distance, but only in the distance. On occasion, the two came upon bushes with bright berries, mushrooms with vibrant caps, but they weren't there to forage, and it was impossible to tell which was poisonous and which were edible. Could they recover from neurotoxins? It wasn't worth finding out, especially when one wasn't trusting enough to risk being vulnerable in the presence of the other.

Their clipped pace carried them through brush and dirt, between disorderly trees whom competed with each other for light, until finally, the two Awakened happened upon something that gave them pause, something that promised more than just meaningless meandering through the woods.

A pungent smell lingered closed to a rotted trunk, the smell of an animal's urine. Faint indentations in the tall grass indicated that a creature must have passed nearby, slipping through the vegetation to head elsewhere. The dampness was still visible; it must not have been too long again.

And yet, in another direction, they could spot curious marks upon the bark of the trees, perhaps ten meters up. Grooves, evenly spaced, marked where a creature, or perhaps a group of creatures, traversed overhead, bounding from one tree to another like monkeys or squirrels. Though there would have to be something done about the height at which those creatures lived, following the marks would be easier than tracking through the tall grass...especially if the tall grass disappeared.

There were options there, certainly.

But perhaps, in the eyes of Oros, there was only one Truth.