Dark Edge Village

Armed with topshur and a portable skin of kumis, Butaj finds Yuki's yurt and stands by the flap. "Asako Yuki, it's Butaj."

There was some muffled conversation for a moment before Yuki appeared as the flap to the yurt was opened. "Moto-san, thank you for coming. Please, come in, Hirase-san is already here." She smiled to the Moto and stepped aside to let him enter.

He returns the smile eagerly, his gaze lingering at her for a short moment. "Butaj is happy to see you again. And to see Asako Hirase again too." After the best bow Butaj can manage he enters the yurt and seeks the man inside, readying the handshake. Once spotted, he grins at him. "How is your head today?"

Yuki closed the flap and moved over to where she had set up two spots for writing. She glanced up as Butaj extended his arm and looked a little confused.

Hirase rose from where he'd been sitting with a scroll and solemnly took the hand offered to him without hesitation, shaking firmly.

"I'm well enough now, arigatou. A stout few mugs of tea this morning, along with a bucket of water over the head upon rising, made short work of any lingering issues from the drink." To his confused Cousin, he added, "Moto-san here was one of the drinking companions I mentioned."

Butaj looks at Yuki with a wider smile. "We had a good time of kumis, song, jokes and exchange of traditions. Butaj thinks fondly of it. He too used a bucket of water, than another bariqu bout to banish the lingering haziness. Asako Hirase is great for Unicorn celebrations and has many good ideas, Butaj hopes he will join the Unicorn Clan after this miai." He relays his honest opinion.

Amused, and not unflattered, Hirase chuckled. "If Khulan has her way, I am destined to be carried off over a saddlebow. Not hers, mind...at least, not so far as I can tell..." For a moment, the man pondered the possible fate of being the fierce Moto woman's 'bride', then chuckled again as he settled once more to sit. "I think she'll want another warrior, not a mere courtier. It really is a pity there are no men of the Hida here. I think that match would be exemplary."

Yuki smiled as the two talked, quickly forgetting the strange moment of the handshake. "Another bout of bariqu, Moto-san? You didn't get enough yesterday?" She giggled a bit, then looked at Hirase. "Carried over a saddlebow?" Apparently her studies hadn't revealed everything to the young Asako on life in the Burning Sands.

"Maybe Butaj did too well! The Lion got very interested after the first one. Butaj could not turn their genuine challenges down in good conscience. That would be against the spirit of bariqu." He smirks, wondering if he should take a seat.

"Hai, Matsu-san seemed... very intense." Yuki responded, glancing down. "Did you win that bout as well?" She looked back up at Butaj.

"Asako Yuki can make a guess." Butaj smirks, enjyoing a moment of eye contact. His brown irises smile at her. "And how have you been since our music evening? We didn't have a chance to talk during the bout."

"It's apparently a Moto thing. They symbolically ride off with their chosen spouse as part of the arrangement, though I haven't worked out yet if it follows a more traditional Rokugani wedding, precedes it, or replaces it entirely."

Hirase answered the question easily, then tactfully returned to his seat, listening to the talk but not attempting to be overly active in it for now. He was, after all, mostly here for form's sake.

Yuki raised an eyebrow at Hirase's explanation, then glanced back at Butaj, blushing slightly before shaking her head some. "An... interesting cultural tradition." Is all she says on that.

"I've seen a lot more of what the Unicorn have to offer. The Ide test was a lot of fun too, with the secret language. For some reason the Iuchi kept sending me back but they worked really hard on it obviously so that was a lot of fun." She paused. "What else? Oh! I found out that your horses like apples just like ours do. Shinjo Akil's horse ate half an apple and probably would have eaten more if I'd let him." She giggled a bit at that. "As for the bouts. Well, it seemed like things were getting really intense with the Matsu and the Mantis, and there were a lot of people there and you looked really busy. That was all." She explained, all in one breath.

"The Lion just wanted too much at once. But in the end we agreed to hold bouts at separate times." He giggle makes him smirk and brightens his gaze. "Huludai likes apples no less than Setem. Butaj needs to get him apples because the stables might not sturdy enough for his jealousy." The Moto laughs softly.

Yuki thought on that. "Oh! I haven't seen your horse yet. His name is Huludai? I'll have to get him some apples then. What is his coloration? Is he as-" Yuki paused, stopping herself from her usual barrage of questions that comes when some topic interests her. "I mean, I look forward to meeting him, Moto-san." She blushed some in embarrassment.

"Are you familiar with Rokugani haiku?" She asked, getting to the topic at hand.