a few inches shorter on the nose

Hikaru was racing the storm, his pale paws carried him swiftly over the landscape but it seemed no matter where he went that he was in danger of a storm. Thunder pushed him forward and the boy knew it was only a matter of time before the lightning followed. He pushed himself as he always did, even if he was tired from his travels onward he had to go. He wouldn’t be caught out in this mess without shelter again. Not if he could help it. The wind began to intensify and whipped his ivory, ebony, and gold fish orange fur all around. It wasn’t long after the first gusts of wind that he began to feel the rain fall on his pale pelt.

The young koi made his feet move faster as his stormy gaze searched out anywhere he could hide from the lightning that was practically on his tail. Had he been a full fledged shinobi instead of a dishonored drop out he would have scolded himself for jumping so high as a huge peal of thunder cracked across the sky. Hika managed not to squeal in surprise as he raced along faster. He was becoming desperate now, and his time limit was quickly approaching. He didn’t want to get struck by lightning, not when he’d only just grasped his new life.

He about wept with relief when he saw the caves. None too soon either. Not even half a mile away an old dead tree was struck, and Kaiyo jumped in surprise again as his paws practically flew over the landscape. What he didn’t expect was an encounter with another wolf. The man looked similar to some of the koi in the Iga clan, and Kiaru hoped that maybe he’d run into a friendly face. He didn’t see the small creature he was fighting at first.

The rain was pouring by the time he managed to reach the wolf, and his pale fur was soaked through. The cold was already becoming intense, and more than ever he needed to retreat into shelter. First though… Kaiyo raced forward to the stranger’s side as he reared back. Easily slipping in to help someone in need. ”Watch out!” He warned as he came in for a quick nip to the groundhog’s rump to distract from the fire marked warrior. Hika was relatively light on his feet and after he scored a nip he danced away to avoid the creature’s retaliation.

Wc:412
Total: 757