Welcoming the Snakes

Tora was in the middle of a large clearing just outside of Korigakure, the ground here was flat. Today was actually slightly warm compared to most days in Kori, and as such the snow that was usually on the ground wasn't very thick. In the perticular area Tora was in, there was almost no snow at all, blades of green grass popped up out of the ground and it was a pretty sight. Tora had come here for a reason, today she was going to learn how to summon. She had already spent countless hours studying summoning and she was now ready to do it for real. She began a series of handseals, the handseals were fairly simple. Tora thought about what her summoning family would be, how summoning worked is that when the summoner uses the summoning jutsu the animal that first comes out is what determines the species of their summonings. Tora was excited and knew that becoming a summoner would add to her arsenal as a Kage greatly.

After completing her hand seals, Tora bit her finger just enough so that a small portion of blood would come out. She then placed that hand on the ground and placed her other hand over it. This was the technique of the summoning process. As her hand touched the ground a small seal formed on the ground and then there was a puff of smoke. Tora took a step back, her heart beating in her chest, she was about to find out what her summoning family was. As the smoke cleared it revealed a small, 6 inch snake. The snake had a red and black pattern, coloring its shiny scales. Tora couldn't help but utter an "awww" as she knelt down and stroked the small snake's head. The little snake was curious as to what the large finger was and began trying to bite it. These bites were painless however as the Snake had no fangs yet, it just had gums that squeezed together on Tora's finger. Tora giggled slightly as the adorable little snake tried to get a grasp on the finger that was just as big around as the snake was. The snake stopped biting for a moment to look up at Tora with big beady eyes, and then there was another puff of smoke, as the snake vanished.

Word Count: 221

Tora smiled to herself, "A snake huh?" she thought. Snakes were something many people feared, but Tora didn't, she was actually a reptile lover most of her life, however there weren't many reptiles where she lived growing up, as most reptiles aren't fans of the cold. Tora sighed, she knew she would have to repeat the process of the summoning jutsu multiple times before perfecting it. She got to work on another set of handseals, to prepare for the next summon.

Tora finished her hand seals up with fair ease, once again she bit her thumb to produce more blood and then she placed her palm on the ground, placing her other hand over that one. Another seal formed on the ground, and then there was a puff of smoke. Tora took a step back to give space for what ever she summoned this time. The smoke cleared to reveal a 12 inch snake, looking much like a viper. This snake didn't yet have fangs, but it did have small teeth that could easily break skin. Tora placed her finger out to graze the snake once again, this time watching out for a bite. The small snake looked up at her arm and seemed puzzled. It didn't bite her, instead it began striding up her arm, tickling Tora slightly. The small snake began curling around her arm and squeezed as hard as it could, no doubt an attempt at constriction. The snake was still an infant so its muscles weren't developed enough to stop Tora's blood flow or cause pain. It continued trying to constrict her for some time before giving up and going further up her arm, it reached her neck and began flicking its tongue out, back and forth at her. Since it was so close, the tongue grazed Tora's skin, it was all actually very cute she thought as the snake puff away in a cloud of smoke.

Word Count: 240

Tora couldn't help but laugh at the incredibly cute snake. She felt a small amount of sadness when it disappeared, but then she remembered that she would see it again in a few moments. She sat down for a moment in the grass to rest herself. She hadn't drained much energy from using the technique, but she just wanted to take it slow, there was no need to rush it after all. She looked up at the sky, which didn't have that many clouds in it, which was rare for Korigakure. Tora sighed as she stood back up and began the handseals again, wondering what would appear next.

Tora finished the handseals a tad quicker this time, she must of been getting more used to them in this specific order that the summoning no jutsu required. After finishing her handseals she bit her finger once again, causing slight pain, as she had bit it in the same spot 3 times now. She then placed her palm on the ground and placed her other hand over it. A seal appeared where her hand had touched the ground and an instant later there was a puff of smoke. Tora took yet another step back to give whatever she had summoned more space, she noticed they were progressively getting bigger. As the smoke cleared it revealed a much larger snake then the one before, it was slightly brown and looked much more mature then the previous ones that were summoned. It slithered around for a moment and then noticed Tora looming over it. It reared itself and stood up a couple feet, not quite high as it wanted, as it was still only 24 inches long. It looked Tora straight in the eyes, it's beady eyes seeming to pierce through her. It began hissing slightly, and bobbing it's head back and forth. After doing this a few moments it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Word Count: 201

Tora waited for the smoke to clear and then she sat in the grass to take another break. The sun shone on her face and felt warm, a feeling that didn't happen very often for her, so she was enjoying it while it lasted. Tora didn't really have a problem with the cold, she had gotten used to it by now, as she had lived there all her life. Every once in a while there would be days like these, as far as the weather is concerned. She could see far off that there was a storm blowing in, it would probably arrive overnight, in the morning there would be a fresh blanket of snow covering the area, and the grass that Tora had been laying on wouldn't even be able to be seen. She sighed as she stood up and brushed herself off, there was still some snow on the ground of course, there was never a time, that she had known at least, where there wasn't snow in Korigakure. She began her handseals again and began waiting.

After a few second Tora was able to successfully complete her hand seals with ease. After finishing the hand seals she bit her thumb, yet again, and placed her palm on the ground. Another seal just like the others before it appeared again, as she placed her other hand over the one that had the thumb she had bit. There was a puff of smoke after a moment, like usual Tora stepped back, giving room for whatever it was she had summoned and then she waited for the smoke to clear. As the smoke cleared it revealed a three foot long snake coiled up before Tora. This snake was brown and had skin flaking off at certain parts. It didn't move or anything, it just sat there. Tora waited a few minuted for it to do something before sitting down and sighing. She waited quite a while and nothing happened. After about an hour Tora had fallen asleep, the snake still laying there coiled up. Tora woke up and yawned, she looked over to the snake and noticed it moving slightly. She bolted upright quickly and watched it. After a few seconds, much to Tora's surprise, it launched itself away from tora, leaving behind its skin and revealing a new red and black coloring. It disappeared in a puff of smoke as it landed on the ground.

Word Count: 227

Tora sighed as the smoke cleared, this process had become very tedious to her. She looked up to the storm that she had seen earlier, it was getting closer, much to her discontentment, she had to finish soon, or she would be caught in a blizzard. Moving quickly she began her handseals again, hoping it would be the last time today. She eyed the storm, it was definately gonna be a big one.

Finishing up her hand seals came quickly for Tora, even quicker than last time. She reopened the wound on her thumb that had closed during her nap, drawing more blood, and she placed her palm on the ground, followed by her other hand on top of it. Another seal like the others appeared under her hands and there was a puff of smoke. Tora took her hands off the ground and took a few steps back, giving even more room for this snake than the previous. As the smoke cleared it revealed a full grown, 60 inch snake that was red and black. Venom dripped from its fangs as it looked at Tora. There was another snake there as well though but it had appeared behind her and she didnt notice it right away she watched the snake that she DID see before her though, it was beautiful and so shiny it looked almost metallic. It began slithering around Tora watching her carefully and hissing every once in a while. She heard something behind her and spun around quickly, to her surprise there was another snake there. This one was purple and was a cobra. Its hood was large and covered its head. This snake was huge compared to the other ones, it was easily 12 feet long and when rearing up it was at eye level with Tora.

"Ahh, so you must be the new snake summoner? I am Hebok." he said to her. Tora wasn't shocked by him speaking, in fact she was expecting it, as she had read about it in a book. While they spoke to eachother the other snake disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I supposed I am, I'm Tora, its nice to meet you Hebok" she replied. "Oh good, your nicer then the last summoner, I think that this will be good. I sense a storm coming soon, I should head back home. I can teach you stuff later ok?" he said. "Ok bye!" Tora replied as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Tora was done for the day and she hurried home before the storm came around.