Dark Edge Village

(expecting!)

Yasuki Tomonaga's expression was somewhat straining the definition of On, as it so often did. It was definitely on the cheerful side, and while he wasn't quite smiling, he looked suspiciously close to either doing that, or jauntily whistling. He walked slowly, looking from side to side as he did.

He glanced at his walking companion, Yasuki Tae. "Not bad. I think the Unicorn are adapting nicely, wouldn't you say?" He didn't seem to be especially committed to the conversation as a topic, more just filling the silence.

His walking companion; the unflappable Yasuki Tae, merely shrugs nonchalantly. "I guess." Walking at her side was a girl no older than four, she tugs at Tae's sleeve, causing the woman to lean over. The girl whispers something in her guardian's ear before said guardian stands up with a wry smile. "Mei-chan thinks so, though."

As the two walked along they would see a woman in Unicorn colours appear from one of the side alley chasing after a very fluffy cat. The animal ran between Tae and Mei before darting down another alley. For the Unicorn's part she skidded to a stop just before she would have run into the three. Blushing a little she bowed sheepishly, arms behind her back.



"P-Pardon, minna-sama. I was not looking where I was going."

Tomonaga turned, shooting Tae's niece a quick grin. "Sounds like Mei-chan knows what's what." He said, amused.

Turned as he was, he had an excellent vantage to see a fluffy cat go skittering between Tae and Mei. He turned to face forward, his brown eyes going wide as a Unicorn woman rushed towards them, only just stopping from running them down.

Tomonaga gave her a smile. "Not at all, uh, Iuchi-san. Ummm... I'm Yasuki Tomonaga." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Was that your cat? Let me help you catch it. I'm good with cats." He said, still smiling, with entirely misplaced confidence.

"No.... um... it just looked fluffy, Crab-sama. It was wandering around unattended."

She recognized the Crab mon instantly... but not the other one. On either of the two samurai.

"Oh." Tomonaga paused, blinking. That wasn't the answer he'd expected. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, it was very fluffy, wasn't it?" That made sense.

He turned slightly, managing to face both her and his walking companions. "This is Yasuki Tae. And the little one-" He gives the niece another quick smile, "-is Yasuki Mei." He turned back to the Unicorn, waiting, his even features politely neutral.

"Ya...suki?"

She blinked, her own face more expressive than a typical Rokugani's.

"I am Iuchi Yukarin... But I must say, my family's scrolls always said the Yasuki were southern vassals of the Crane Clan. Forgive me if I am a bit confused by your introduction."

Yukarin truly did look befuddled.

Tae watches the exchange, definitely not knowing what to make of this. Still, it is best to be a bit more... Lenient with the Unicorn in general. Given how much she's had to deal with Hida and the occasional surly Hiruma, she's at least prepared for this. Oh, she mentally smirks at the thought of how the Crane here are handling things.

"The Crane did not appreciate our talents, found commerce distasteful. The Crab have been quite hospitable." Tae speaks up, placing a hand on her niece's head. "The Crane are still a bit sore on the subject, however."

Tomonaga nodded agreement. "Yeah. I think we're a better fit with the Crab; we really need the commerce." He looked at the Iuchi, smiling gently; he, too, tended to be a bit more expressive, although not so much as Yukarin. "But that happened a few hundred years ago. I'm afraid your family's scrolls are rather out of date." He said gently.

His lips parted, about to say more, when he did a double-take. "Wait." Tomonaga said. "Does that mean your family's scrolls predate the Unicorn departure from Rokugan?" His eyebrows go up a little. Keeping scrolls safe when you had a keep, like Kyuden Ikoma, was one thing. Keeping them safe when traveling on horseback for hundreds of years...

Honestly Yukarin had nothing to add on the Yasuki issue; Perhaps it was just something that happened? Fortunately Tomonaga provides a distraction.

"Some of them, hai. My family are a lineage of historians and priests who used storage techniques and prayers to help preserve our material connections to our pasts. Not everything survived the Journey of course and some things needed to be copied or restored, but careful storage and the attentions of the kami can work wonders."

"That sounds interesting." Tomonaga said. "You should... hmm. There are many who would be interested in learning about such things. Both the materials themselves, and your family's methods."

He is silent a moment, and then his head tilted, his brown eyes inquisitive. "Is that what you do, then? A historian, or a priest? Or both? Following the family line?" His lips twitched ever so slightly.

Tae quietly watches the two, taking her hand off her niece's head to run her fingers through her hair. One could see the tattoo of a carp under the Yasuki's sleeve. "Preservative techniques, huh? Sounds like that could have had all kinds of uses."

"Useful, hai. And yes, I would like to be a historian! I mean, I'm more formally trained as a negotiator and merchant, but that doesn't preclude other studies..."

Yukarin looked around as she finished talking, "Um... I seem to have stopped minna-sama in the middle of the street."

"That's certainly true." Tomonaga said. He frowned for a moment as he tried to think of his other studies. They all seemed to have been left behind... he cleared his throat. "Do you combine those? Like, as a merchant of history?"

Tomonaga looked around, seeming to suddenly remember where they were. "Oh, right. Well, we weren't really going anywhere, just looking around. It'd probably be much better if we were with someone who knew the area." He smiled. "Help us find all the fluffiest cats. And a fellow merchant, too. Don't you think so, Yasuki-san?" He asked his companion, his tone casual.

Tae raises a brow at her companion for a moment before nonchalantly shrugging. "I'm fine with this. My niece enjoys cats, after all."

Mei looks up at her aunt and tilts her head to the side. "Will I be able to pet a kitty?"

The woman looks down at her niece and smirks. "Maybe. Depends on if we find one."