Jirai, long white hair sticking to the sides of his face, rode for hours. He was on his way back to Salthazar from spying on Carbel and his young son. He had to make a stop first however. His horse nearly breaking it's back as it stumbled through the heavy thicket. The forest was quiet, the slight hints of a future snowfall could be seen, flitting down from the sky. Winter would be upon them soon, and he had news to carry. His stallion reared up, darting off into the black of the night, Jirai shielded his eyes from the wind that picked up from their run after hours of slogging through mud and twisted grasses. Soon enough, he stopped in front of the home of Shifumi, widow of Arale, getting off his steed he pat the horse on the bottom. The horse calmed down and began to graze from the sparse grass.

The door to the old shack the woman lived in was old and falling to pieces. He carefully made his way inside, pushing the door open slowly. He covered his mouth, coughing at the incense that floated in the stuffy, confined space. "Lady Shifumi. I come to you with information." his voice was low as the old crone stared at him from behind her own long white hair. She motioned her hand at the chair that sat in front of the old table she was working at. The light of the fire flickering off the jam filled mason jars sitting dusty and unused on the shelf above where she was placed.

The table was low to the ground, the walls of the shack the same dead, peeling wood design. The floor was made of nothing more than a shaggy woolen grey carpet. Her bed was a small cot in the corner next to her dull grey wash basin. The well outside gave her all the water she needed, a short trek through the bundle of bushes near the treeline, leading back to the path Jirai had taken. Her home was surrounded by trees on all sides, a small clearing separating her from the rest of the forest itself. She stared at him, the fire's glow dancing off both of their flesh. Her wrinkled and worn skin shifted, while she pulled a book out from beneath the table on which sat several large rats. All with their guts removed and inner bodies cleaned out, she was stuffing them full of herbs and bits of chicken meat. He remained silent as he stared at her, her long old bony fingers working quickly at their task.

"You come with a tale to tell these old ears?", When Shifumi finally spoke she lifted a hand up to run across Jiraya's face, he didn't move, instead he stared at her blankly.

"Yes. Carbel and his young son are living in that old tower. I have reason to believe that the witch seeks to find you. Are you almost done with the plans?" He said this while wiping the powder she'd smeared across his face from forehead to chin off, the grey substance sticking to his fingers.

"........", she didn't say much of anything after hearing that, instead, she lifted the rats and sealed them up, feeding them to the massive snake that lay curled up under the table. Slowly, the table lifted off the floor and the sound of violent hissing could be heard.

Jirai jumped out of the way, as the table flipped over and a long black haired, pale skinned man stood where the snake had once hid. The table hit the ground on it's front, the legs sticking in the air. Naked body embraced by the light of the fire, golden eyes gleamed in joy at the sight of Jirai. The man's voice cut through the night like a sword slicing into the softest of flesh.

"So nice to see an old friend, Jirai..."

The white haired man stared on in shock, a long tongue seeping across his face like poison....