Dark Edge Village

Takeo was bowed before the torii, offering his morning prayers to the fortunes and appropriate ancestors. He had sent an invitation to Aramoro to join him, hoping to discuss a politically sensitive topic with the Imperial.

the Imperial arrived, hair tightly tied back with a top knot. He wore his flashy jacket over his kimono. He sae the Fox Prince and approached. He moved into the peripheral vision of Takeo for him to notice him, when the Fox turns to look at hi he bows deeply:

"Kitsune-sama, it is an honour to be invited here by one of your stature. I hope you are ready to meet me and that I am not too early."

As Takeo rose, he returned the bow.

"You are exactly on time, Seppun-san. Thank you for agreeing to meet me. Have you eaten yet? I could arrange for a light meal if you haven't had the chance?" he asked, extending the offer of food to the Imperial.

He had already eaten, but how many lifetimes does it take before being offered a meal by a prince?

"Such an offer cannot be refused Kitsune-sama" He nods his head deeply.

Takeo flagged down a nearby heimin and sent them running to grab a servant who in turn ran to fetch a cook. As the game of telegram played out, Takeo returned his attention to Aramoro.

"I am pleased you were available to meet with me this morning. How are you enjoying the village, Seppun-san? Do you hail from Otosan Uchi? I imagine the experience is quite different, if you grew up near the Imperial City."

He returned a nod, "The pleasure is mine, Fox-sama. " He looks over the village "May family has been in Otosan Uchi since they can remember, I follow a long line of Seppun Guard." He then looks down to his fan "So it would be a lie had I said these accommodations are favourable, but of course I am grateful to be here."

He looks to the Fox "I am certain the Unicorn have accommodated you more appropriately Kitsune-sama?"

"My rooms are as well appointed as one might expect. I feel as though I might have turned them down - it seemed wrong to live in a way the Unicorn themselves do not - but that would have insulted our hosts of course," he replied.

"I should also commend you on your performance in the miai competitions, Seppun-san. Your sensei will be very proud."

He bows his head. "It would be wonderful if I can pass this Miai with my sensei being proud of his student. I intend to do even better tonight." He looks over at the scurrying servants "Your acceptance of better furnished room was the honourable thing to do Kitsune-sama, refusal would not have only been an insult to our gracious host, but to the order that is Rokugan society." Oddly, he did not seem all that convinced about his own solid argument. "Your decision is wise Kitsune-sama, only overshadowed by your modesty."

Takeo waved a hand.

"I am not modest, Seppun-san, merely a humble man from a humble clan," he said as he turned to regard the shrine for a moment before looking back to Aramoro.

"And I certainly do not claim any wisdom, save perhaps in seeking help where help may be available or necessary. Knowing one's position is, in many ways, a requirement for improving it."

Modest about being modest, how quaint.

He starts to wave his fan about. "I am certain even ones of great stature need help at times" He mentions at hearing the underlying tone. "And those that serve be willing to do so"

"We all serve the Emperor though, as best we deem fit, and none are closer to him than the Imperial families," Takeo replied, trying to give weight to Aramoro's position among the Seppun.

"I find myself in a bit of a predicament, Seppun-san, and I have a need to seek the assistance of one whom, like yourself, has excelled in these competitions, if certain circumstances align in such a way as to thwart my own aims."

The Imperial gives a questioning frown "Oh, Kitsiune-sama? There is something ones, like I, could do for one like you?" He asks, playing coy.

"There is, if you find yourself in a position which, at present, it appears you will," he replied, pausing a moment before continuing.

"I would request that you not select Otaku Kitakuhime to be your spouse, given the opportunity."

He smiled as the servants returned and began to set up the light fare they had brought of eggs, sesame and rice.

He waited for the questions that were sure to follow.

Aramoro looks at the food, relieved it wasn't Unicorn in nature. He hides his excitement as curiosity fills his mind.

"That is a very peculiar request Kitsune-sama, if not one that places me in a conflicting position."

He takes out his fan and taps it on his palm. "You so honourable Fox-sama, I, like yourself, have been instructed to find a suitable bride at this Miai. Let us be open with one another and acknowledge the politics involved here. If I return with a bride like Otaku Kitakuhime-sama, I would gain much favour with my lord.

But at the very same time, I would not want to suffer the disfavour of one as influential as yourself."

He cocks his head to the side "As you can most undboutbably see great Kitsune-sama, there is much to consider and I would need to know... why for me to take such risks."

Takeo nods in understanding - he had expected as much.

"Of course, Seppun-sama. I could not ask you to do such without providing why. The Fox and the Unicorn share a common ancestry dating all the way back to Shinjo herself. It is our hope that such a marriage would serve to tie the two clans more closely together - a full showing of support from two distant parts of the same line. Such a strong commitment would do much to welcome the Unicorn back to the Empire and help to cement the lasting bonds between our two people."

He paused a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing on.

"The Emperor has seen fit to grant the Unicorn the lands that were once rightly theirs. But it is no secret that the Lion feel slighted in the process, particularly as the Unicorn have yet to learn the finer points of etiquette. My family would find it incumbent to support the Unicorn however we could, should open war breakout with the Lion who have been so ascendant lately."