Dark Edge Village

Shinjo Akil led Setem calmly out to the fields, humming a light tune as he looked out towards the plains. "Beautiful, isn't it Setem?" He pet the shaggy horse's head calmly, watching the late morning sun for a long moment and smiling. "This is home now, I suppose. At least until I find out who wants a crippled bushi." He laughed lightly, then lifted himself onto the horse, guiding him to a light trot.

Tomonaga suspected that if there was anything a visitor to the Unicorn lands should see, it would be their horses. Best to do that right away, he decided.

And so it was that he made his way to the horsemanship field, hoping for a glimpse of one of the legendary creatures in action. He was not disappointed. Tomonaga is silent, and his expression only politely interested, but his light brown eyes dance with interest as he watches the Unicorn samurai skillfully mount the impressive beast, guiding it to a trot. Cautiously, Tomonaga moved a little closer, for a better look.

He wasn't exactly stealthy, which made it reasonably easy for Akil to notice him. His trot moved such that he could approach the Crab. Once close enough, he bowed from his horse. "Ah, Crab-sama," his lack of training in dealing with mons was already messing with him, it seemed, "I hope you are finding our new home as interesting and exciting as I am. I am Shinjo Akil, and this is Setem."

Tomonaga returned the bow; standing of course, lacking a horse of his own. Now addressed, he moved a little closer, less hesitantly, although he kept a respectful distance, hands behind his back. "Shinjo-san." He says, his tone cheerful. "It is good to meet you. Yasuki Tomonaga."

His eyebrows went up just a touch. "Oh, yeah, it's sometimes easy to forget that you've only just recently come to these lands yourself. Yes, they're very nice. My yurt is great, very comfortable; I've had smaller rooms, sometimes." He gave the tiniest shudder.

He took the slightest step closer. "Setem." He echoes solemly. "I do a little riding, but, uh, nothing like..." He gestures, open-palmed, towards the horse. "Very magnificent, Shinjo-san. How long, uh..." Tomonaga frowned. Actually, he wasn't sure if the Shinjo owned the horse, or they were raised as brothers, or what. Hopefully the Unicorn could fill it in with something appropriate.

"I am glad to hear," he responded, smiling politely. "I have to tell you these plains are lovely."

When questioned about his horse, he laughed a bit, patting the horse which snorted lightly. "Setem and I have been together since I was old enough to ride a saddle. In a lot of ways, I suppose he is my best friend."

"Yeah?" Tomonaga stepped to the side a little bit to look out. "They are, huh." He frowns thoughtfully a moment.

He can't help but smile a little at the obviously close bond between animal and samurai. He acknowledges it with a nod. "How far do you think the two of you have gone together? Your clan has covered so much distance." He looked out at the plains again.

"Hundreds, easily," he nodded calmly. He pat the shaggy head of the horse, whose head shook. "Stubborn old man," he smirked, looking back to Tomonaga. "You wouldn't know it with this one, though. He does enjoy getting to move his legs, and he is still very fast when he wants to be."

He pulled one of his legs over, so he was more just sitting on the horse. "If I may, how precisely do you serve the Crab, Yasuki-sama?"

"Heh. I know some samurai like that." Tomonaga joked. "My uncle can move pretty fast when it's time to open another sake barrel..."

After another admiring look at Setem, he turnde back to Akil. "Well, hmmm." He frowned. "Well, as you may know, the Crab are the defenders of the wall. But maintaining an army takes a lot, especially with everything we need." He counts off items on his fingers. "Steel. Ammunition. Jade. Replacement parts. Stone. And that's before the things everyone needs, like food. So, the Yasuki work out deals with the other clans to make sure we have all these things."

He bowed. "In particular, my family brew and trade sake. Golden Carp, is what we call it. Would you like to try it? I carry a bottle almost everywhere I go."

He pushed himself off his horse, not bothering to hold the reins. It was as if he knew that Setem wouldn't go anywhere without him. "I would love a taste, Yasuki-sama. As it happens, I was given a sake cup by an Ide friend of mine," he produced the cup. "I was told it was a good idea to always have one near me."

"It is." Tomonaga said agreeably. "In fact, I generally carry two cups, but since your friend gave you one..." He nevertheless does produce a cup, and a bottle with a stylized golden fish inked onto it. Carefully, he poured a bit into Akil's cup, and then a bit into his own, before stoppering the bottle as best he can. "You'll find it has a dry taste." He lifts the cup to Akil in cheers, ready to drink when the Unicorn does.

He holds it up in cheers as well, nodding his head as he shot the drink back. It seemed at least he was used to booze, as he didn't cough it up or anything of that nature. "It has an interesting flavor indeed. A bit more dry than I prefer in an alcohol, but intriguing nonetheless. Perhaps we will have to find Yasuki-sama one of the Moto who is carrying kumis with them."

"Hmmm." Tomonaga nods. "Well, perhaps later you can try one of our other varieties. I'm sure we can find something you really like."

His eyebrows go up. "Kumis, huh? That's a drink? Yeah, I'm interested." Indeed, he looks interested. "Do you know how they make it?"

"Not at all," he laughed, "I leave those things to the people who specialize in them. My responsibilities involve... involved slaying enemies of the Clan, and that was largely my focus when I was able to do so."

"Oh yeah?" Tomonaga said. "A warrior, eh? I know some Hida who'd probably be happy to talk about that sort of thing with you. Not my line, I'm afraid." Despite his words, Tomonaga does look reasonably fit.

The slight wrinkling of his forehead shows he caught the significance of 'able to do so', but seems to struggle to find a polite way to ask about it. "Ah... do you do something different now?" He asked hesitantly.

"I will," he said, "well, eventually. During the ride I suffered an injury," he shook his head a bit. "So the Clan has been considering how best it would be for me to serve."