Dark Edge Village

"This is going to be great. Gekko-kun!" The girl tells her horse, adjusting the saddle so it could fit two comfortably. "You're going to love her. She has a cute accent. She's very gentle and she is very wise. Unfortunately, I don't think she'll marry into the Clan. The boys are not up to her level."

She brushes Gekko's hair to make sure he's pretty and shining for Misa. Then, Kitakuhime realizes she wouldn't be able to see it. With a shrug, she continues to groom the horse.

"Intention is what matters. Besides, your fur will be so smooth, she'll glee when she slides her hand over your mane."

Kitakuhime puts a hand over her forehead, trying to glimpse if the Misa and her attendant managed to find their meeting place before the ride.

Soon the sight of the pair could be seen making their way out into the fields. The young Sanmi walked just before her mistress, going small notes to avoid holes or bumps, Misa's footsteps careful. Upon spotting the tall Unicorn woman and her equally tall steed, Sanmi steered their course in that direction, whispering to her mistress.

As they got close, Misa's smiling face was apparent. Unsure how close was close, Misa got her low, careful bow out of the way before speaking up to be heard over the wind and open spaces. "Sanmi-san tells me that Gekko-kun looks magnificent and regal. Did Otaku-sama get him all dressed up just for me?"

Gekko bows by lowering his head, and so does Kitakuhime –– hiding her heavy blush.

She comes back up with enthusiasm. "So! Tonbo-sama! Sanmi-san!" She speaks a bit louder than usual –– probably due the wind, "Ready to ride?"

The girl waits rather anxiously with a big grin.

Misa gave a silent laugh into her hand as she approached, more certain now where Kitakuhime was from her voice. "I am not certain who is more eager from your tone Otaku-sama, yourself or me."

She stopped when she was close, just smiling gently. "Though I will attest at a touch of nervousness. Not because of Otaku-sama or her friend, but over myself. What if I somehow mess up?"

Shinjo Liu Yue came to the field atop of Hikazume. She kept an eye out for the Asako she had planned on meeting.

The two women already present did not garner much of her attention. She figured that they were busy with their own lesson.

Two of the three Asako...if one grants Family names to children...walked onto the fields not long after. They moved quite slowly, mostly because the much smaller one was so busy looking at the spectacle of horses that TOWERED over him that he hardly remembered he was supposed to be moving and kept being gently tugged by his patient parent. Both were dressed, as promised, in sturdy traveler's clothing, with hakama below and the upper parts of jinbei above.

Finally, however, they were in hail. Hirase stopped first, releasing the grip of the little boy. The child stopped, surprised, and then turned to look at horse and rider as his father murmured to him.

Very, very carefully, the little one bowed.

"'hayou!" When he'd straightened, he shyly waved. "Hi, pony!"

Hirase, coming behind the child, bowed as well.

"Good evening, Shinjo-san. Allow me to present Ichiro, my son."

Again, the boy waved, then turned and buried his face in his father's side, peeking up and over at the very large lady on a very large horse.

Yuki was along, but for now she stayed behind, offering the occasional encouraging smile to the young boy. She bowed to Liu Yue in greeting. "Shinjo-san. A pleasure to see you again."

A whole flurry of emotions erupted inside the Shinjo woman. She adored children but she knew that her injuries were very far from ordinary. They were even intimidating, sometimes.

She refused to let it get to her. Yue dismounted her horse and gave her three students each a deep bow. "Konbonwa, mina-dono." She swallowed. Oh it most certainly is weird if I refer to a kid as such. Hm, well, deepest respect to everyone! Yeah...

"It is a pleasure to see you all," she continued. Her eyes shifted between them all. "Who is my first student tonight?"

Tonbo Misa wrote:Misa gave a silent laugh into her hand as she approached, more certain now where Kitakuhime was from her voice. "I am not certain who is more eager from your tone Otaku-sama, yourself or me."

She stopped when she was close, just smiling gently. "Though I will attest at a touch of nervousness. Not because of Otaku-sama or her friend, but over myself. What if I somehow mess up?"

She shakes her head, "Nonsense. There's no way to mess up. Gekko is a gentlem... gentlesteed," she giggles, adding on, "He will make sure you have a first nice, smooth ride. Then, if you're up to it, we can speed it up a notch."

"Allow me," Kitakuhime asks for her permission, "Gkeko need to get to know both of you better. That means you get to pet him."

She nods to Sanmi to go forward and pet him, too, with a warning, "Just make sure you're not behind him."

Misa gave a quiet laugh at that. "I will depend fully on you for that Otaku-sama." She waited for the presence of the steed to be close before reaching out and lightly petting Gekko on his snout, smiling slowly as she did so. Sanmi stayed back, a bit uncertain, and Misa seemed to catch on after a moment. "Sanmi will not join us for the ride, but it would be good all the same. Come up here Sanmi-chan."

The girl nodded a bit, clearly more nervous than Misa as she went up to pet at Gekko's neck. Misa did her best to be a reassuring presence for her servant, and it seemed to help a bit. After a moment she spoke up softly. "He is bigger than the first horse I touched. Shinjo Kemuri-san let me pet his horse the other day, but just touching both can tell me Gekko must be quite a bit taller and stronger than Sarangerel was."

"Sarangerel, neh!" She shrugs, "Gekko is quite tall himself, but the other Unicorn horses are actually a bit larger. The Otaku steeds are stronger though, and leaner. This boy here is all muscles, heart and wits."

Gekko neighs a bit, as if saying 'I know'. Kitakuhime can't help but to laugh a bit. "About the ride. I thought that I could take both of you for a reconnaissance stroll. You both go up the saddle, and I pull Gekko in the front by the reigns. If you feel up to an adventure, we could leave Sanmi there with the others, and try to gallop a bit."

"What do you say?"

Misa thoughtfully looked to her servant, and turned the girl in to whisper for a moment. Finally she leaned back away from their private conversation, Sanmi blushing a bit. "Sanmi-chan isn't quite certain she's up for a ride, if that's all right. She's a bit of a shy girl, and she's never liked too much excitement."

She paused a moment in contemplation, tapping her chin. "I could ride on there alone while you pull Gekko along I suppose... or you could ride with myself behind as well. I would trust Otaku-sama completely to have my safety at heart." Misa looked toward Kitakuhime with a warm, caring smile at that.

She smiles to Sanmi, "If you change your mind. Just say so. No harm in learning a skill you master will benefit from, after all."

Gekko gets a bit close, and Kitakuhime gently takes both of Sami's arm, moving them toward the saddle's, "Gomen," She mentions the physical contact, but soon keeps on going, "This is where you hold tight to pull yourself to get on top of him It is called the Horn."

Kitakuhime kneels, and takes her right leg, gently raising it up, "Your left foot goes into the stirrup, so you have leverage to lift yourself. Then you must pass you left leg over Gekko. I'll be here holding you, in any case."

Misa flushed a bit at the contact, but seemed determined. The Tonbo would feel quite light and frail to Kitakuhime, though she moved with trust at the guidance given her. As her right foot was raised, she raised her left up to try to find the stirrup. Not being able to see it made putting her foot in it hard to say the least, but she kept her weight on her foot in Kitakuhime's hand and on the horn with both hands until, finally, her foot found the stirrup.

Getting her leg up and over proved to be even more difficult, especially because of her hakama and kimono. Finally however she pulled herself up and sat side-saddle, panting just a bit a moment, red faced and grinning down with a half sheepish, half proud look.

"Uh! Side-saddle riding, are we?" She laughs, "Tonbo-sama is a daredevil. It will be a challenge, if we gallop. No need to re-adjust now."

Kitakuhume takes the reins, and smooches a few kisses out in the air, calling Gekko to follow. "This is the part where the Shinjo would go, 'Yihaaa!', and the Moto would, 'Ulululu!'"