The Dark and the Eyes [SC Training]

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Gin donned his black outfit; robes, pants, shoes and his bandana. Last he had been out in the forest at night, he was too noticeable and he wanted very little chance of being caught, killed, and/or eaten.

This night, the young ninja wanted to focus working on his perception skills. He took an initial look around to observe his surroundings. Given that it was soon after sundown, there was still some light being given to the scenery, but due to the cluster of trees, it was difficult nonetheless. The tree branches were moving due to the breeze blowing east, very little leaves were dropping.

This wasn't going as he planned, his navigation skills were the only thing that was being used here. He needed a target. Something then made a sound, a faint hoot. An owl, one of his favorite animals. Gin immediately made his way towards the direction the sound had come. He kept low to the ground and at a low speed while peering up and keeping his ears open. He won't spot the avian without hearing it first.

Another hoot drew him to his left, it was close by, he crept closer. After a few yards, Gin pulled to a stop while peering up at the branches. It was already dark and he dare not make any sudden movements without knowing where the owl was.

Another hoot, a few feet in front of up, directly up. Gin visually scanned the branches until he found the silhouette of what seemed to be a large owl with ear tufts, possibly and eagle-owl. Gin was going to make a jump for it and try to chase the avian down, but something caught his attention. A faint sound of a twig snapping came from just distance away. His eyes shot towards that direction as he leaned himself by the trunk of a tree. There were too many shrubs to tell what was over there.

He waited to see if there was another sound. It was a couple of seconds before he movement; slow shuffling through the shrubs, his now dilated eyes could see the shrubs moving slowly, it was just a few feet away. For such a large bush to be moving means that whatever creature was there couldn't be a rabbit, but something bigger.

Gin slowly drew a kunai from his thigh pouch while keeping his eyes on the shrub, he didn't know if the creature knew if he was there or not, but he was ready to move when needed.

Then there they were, yellow eyes glaring right at him. That moment, he knew he had to move. Gin threw the kunai at the eyes while jumping backwards. At that moment, the beast jumped forward with a roar. The ninja couldn't tell if he landed the hit, but his main concern was to gain distance, for the beast was moving closer. Gin turned and ran up a nearby tree. Once he reached the branches, the sound of heavy running was left down below. He looked about and noticed the owl was gone. Clearly it left.

Gin looked down but didn't see into the darkness below, whatever the creature was, it had a dark fur, or hair, or skin, whatever it was. The ninja wondered if the beast was still there; a low growl had then answered his question.

The genin drew a kunai and attached an exploding note to it before tossing it downward. With a gesture of his hand, where the kunai hit, an explosion happened. A flash fire revealed the body of what seemed to be a large panther. Too large for Gin to handle. That is where Gin decided to make a retreat. He observed the branches before him. He jumped from branch to branch in the direction of the village. The sound of the panther's running died down after a few minutes of chasing.

Gin's relief was sweet, he promised himself he would never return to the dark by himself again.