Yep, still a circle [D2, LM]

[Yuzuki]

"Uh..."

This could lead to so much trouble.

"Well, Scorpion might be even more paranoid. But everyone knows you shouldn't give a Scorpion too much of your trust. And Lion... well, some might say they have sticks up their as-- Err, I mean, that they're a bit too... rigid some times."

[Moto Butaj]

"This is strange. Butaj has found the Scorpion friendly and reliable so far. The Soshi have been so decent. Maybe they are different than the rest of the Scorpion?" Butaj rubs his stubble in thought. "The Lion have sticks up their asses, understood. And the Phoenix?"

[Yuzuki]

"Uhm... they're really good at magic?"

She shrugged.

"I guess they're pretty nice. To everyone?"

[Moto Butaj]

Something clicks in Butaj's mind. He nods after a pause. "Like the Dragon, they are very nice too. And the Crab?"

[Yuzuki]

"Cousins of the Mantis. They're good fun if you don't talk about monsters with them."

[Moto Butaj]

"Are they afraid of monsters then?"

[Yuzuki]

"Uh. No. They fight them. Like, a lot. And it's hard to get them to shut up about it once they start talking about it. I mean, the Mantis don't really care, but talking about that stuff is one of those taboos I mentioned."

[Moto Butaj]

"It doesn't sound like it's a taboo for the Crab. It looks like those taboos differ from Clan to Clan then. Do the Mantis have many?"

[Yuzuki]

"Well, if we did have taboos, it'd be kind of taboo talking about them, you know? I guess, just don't insult us? But that's pretty standard for everyone."

[Moto Butaj]

"Butaj is not prickly about badly chosen words as long as the intent is honest. This Butaj can easily forgive, as can most Unicorn. It is the other way around that troubles Butaj, when someone uses a wall of words to bard from the truth."

[Yuzuki]

"Courtiers definitely like their words. Pretty dangerous sometimes, too."

[Moto Butaj]

"And what do they actually do? Butaj knows what the Ide do but they have not gone to courts too much in the past, more to the tribes. villages, streets and marketplaces. Butaj has no clear idea of what those courts are."

[Yuzuki]

"I imagine it's not too different from what your Ide do. Only at court instead of... on a horse? They engage in politics, or are part of the bureacracy of their clan or the empire. As for what a court is, well. Important people have important holdings, yes? Like a castle or a palace or an estate. And other people gather there for politics. Of course, the most important court is whichever one the Emperor attends, and he usually spends his winters at one of the castles of the clans."

[Moto Butaj]

Butaj thinks. "So we must build a castle to receive the Emperor for winter? A field of gers and chomchogs won't do?"

[Yuzuki]

"Uhm... well, I'm sure the's a castle or two the Lion left behind."

Wasn't there?

"I'm not entirely sure what the protocol is in any case, I just know it's almost always held at a Kyuden. And uh... what are gers and chomchogs?"