[D3 EE Hotaru's yurt] Shochu, sweets and soothsaying

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Now.... if Bayushi-san doesn't mind me asking. How did she do that? Your barely know me..." Dong-Ha, while not gullible, had generally been unlikely to doubt his fellow men. "Does it work this well every time?" Iuchi seemed to be full of questions as he watched Hotaru pack the sticks already wondering where he could procure something similar. He wasn't opposed to reading omens with bones, the true and tested way of the Moto, but this new method seemed more accurate, somehow.

"So Bayushi-san mentioned she would be interested in horse riding. Perhaps we could agree on a time, say, day after tomorrow, in the morning of afternoon before the day's event." he suggested carefully. "I would like to show you... how it is to ride like a wind and maybe..." Dong-Ha flustered a bit. "..maybe learn to know you a little better?"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Sometimes the fates can be uncooperative, casting a shroud on the diviner so that they cannot properly read the fates. Such things aren't supposed to be obvious to mortal eyes. 'Work' is subjective, as it's not up to the method but the diviner. The message from the scriptures of the oracle is actually quite vague. Even if an unskilled diviner is able to derive the same result, sometimes they are unable to provide a truly accurate and personal reading. The fates are usually kind enough to provide me with some direction into people's lives so that I can read them accurately. Like, I know that you have plans and you must require urgency in your plan, but I don't know of your exact plans. If you provide me with more details, it's likely I could tell you more."

"Oh, of course! And I'd be happy to learn to know you a little better, as well" She said with a small smile, looking down at her sticks. "I don't think I have any immediate plans in that time that can't be nudged slightly to accommodate."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Ha." the young Iuchi nodded, seemingly impressed. Truly he had been lucky to consult such an expert... and truly such an expert could be an asset for their clan. What if there was a medium who you could turn to whenever you needed to decide something, but were not quite sure what to do? Value of such a person could not be counted in horses. "So Bayushi-san has to be very talented, then." She had practically admitted that, no? "Are such studies of omens common among your kin... or was it perhaps something your sensei decided, sensing your gifts?"

"It's decided then, good, good." Dong-Ha noted, smiling earnestly. "I'll pack a little something for us to eat too." Yes, he had plans. Not plans withing plans however, as that was reserved for the Scorpion. Perhaos unfortunately for Dong-ha, it did not occur to him to tell her to prepare clothing suited for riding. While she might have not had anything suitable, she could have borrowed a shorter hakama, or even a pair of breeches from someone. "Don't worry, Poppy's a gentle horse." many of the locals seemed to be intimidated by the Unicorn steeds and he wanted to reassure the small Scorpion that the animal taller than her was perfectly safe.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Quite talented, actually," she said proudly with a small smirk. "The studies of omens are not usually done by the Baysushi, as we leave them in the hands of the Soshi and Yogo, but we value them nevertheless. As a Family, we tend to take spirituality quite seriously." That was to say that the Bayushi were typically a superstitious bunch.

Hotaru hadn't thought so far about the size of the horse, or dressing for it. She thought of the occasion more like learning a new game than working with a live animal. "That's very generous and forward thinking of you! Your kin have already done much as hosts and you're going beyond that. Poppy is the name of your horse? ...Are horses typically rough on people?" she asked, as she only saw people riding them with ease.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Very wise, that." Dong-Ha murmured, his calloused fingers drawing a simple sign against evil on a threadbare mattress beneath him. "My kind... we take omens seriously. Though we usually read the omens from polished bones or gizzards." The Unicorn divination methods were perhaps somewhat alien to the more civilized Rokugani. "Not a topic I have studied."

"Yes, Poppy, she originally belong to my little sister... before she was passed to me after... Hyun-Mi didn't need her anymore." the young man paused to exhale slowly. "I never had the heart to rename her." There was a hint of sorrow in the young man's voice.

"Uh... it can be rough at first, when you are not used to it. At least, if you have to ride for hours to an end. Well, you might end up with sore muscles... but that shouldn't be the case... we are not riding far." Dong-Ha was still smiling, his voice soft as he tried to reassure Hotaru. "Only going for a short ride, after all." he added little bit sheepishly. "But it should be fun!"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Again with the bones. The Unicorn weren't kidding, they really value bones in their divinations. "Divination is not a skill that many take on, even those who are gifted with the whisper of the kami. I'd like to think that it's not only difficult to study, but there's a burden attached to it that some don't want to be responsible for."

She shook her head solemnly at the mention of her sister. "I don't see any reaction why you should rename your sister's own horse when she was gifted to you, especially if it is a name she chose herself. Perhaps, in a way, you do maintain her memory by cherishing Poppy. If the Unicorn value their steeds as much as I think they do, it is indeed a great honour to inherit. In a way, I sort of wished that I was bestowed something like that when my...sister passed away..." Like a fancy sustainable money-making business.

"Uhm, oh." She murmured in realization. "I had never thought of that. I suppose I've always assumed that riding a horse would be like sitting down and moving at the same time. It is not a comfort you can take for granted or trivially, especially with the horse doing much of the labour."

"Still!" She chuckled lightly. "It is an adventure I look forward to!"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"My thoughts exactly." Dong-Ha replied, his expression a little sober. Yet, he managed to force a smile on his lips. "At least this way I have a reminder of her and my little brother." Nomads dug no graves nor erected tombstones for their dead. Memories were the only thing people could cling to. "My sister was supposed to become a bushi. She was a wild one, first to swing a fist if someone mocked her, good with horses and brave enough to ride on her own. Alas, she was... bit too brave." Being brave counted for little when you were 13 and haunted by minions of Nothing.

"How Bayushi-san gets along with her siblings... or got?" She had mentioned they had rather varied interests. "Most of the Dark Ride we were too afraid to argue, huddling together. Hoping that nothing would happen."

"Actually, it's more like standing up... and trying to stay up while the earth beneath you moves." the young man chuckled. "If you rest your rear on the saddle when the horse gallops, you end purple and bruised." Most aspiring riders made the mistake eventually, even if they were told to lean into the stirrups. "The faster you go, the harder it gets." That of course tended to apply to most things.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

It seemed rather hard to picture her family going through an ordeal together, forced to band together and remain close. They would have likely thrown her to the proverbial wolves if it could give them a chance of surviving, as she was the youngest and smallest one out of the bunch.

"Ahhh...Well, enough! Haha!" She said with a mustered smile. "Well, to be truthful, our age differences were all over the place. There's almost a decade age gap between myself and my eldest brother. We grew up, almost at different stages of our lives. My otouto is married with a few kids of his own already, while I'm just embarking the journey myself. When we get together, we do talk, however. I try to chip in as best as I can!" Except, I'm always sitting at the kid's table while everyone is laughing it up! "You are blessed to have a close family..."

"Ooh...so you can't actually sit down on a horse?" She pursed her lip. "I take it that it's not very comfortable after all, but at least it's fast?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I guess one has to count his blessings, yes." Dong-Ha muttered awkwardly, moving his hand to his neck. "Though, my aneue is only two years older than me, and my imoto was... three years younger than me so, perhaps that is why." They also had had to rely on each other from an early age, building rather tight bonds between and within families. "So you are expected to follow his example then?" Only moment later he realized what he had said, blushing.

"No, not really. Well, I mean, you sit if you aren't moving, or if you move slowly... but when you want to ride like the wind, you crouch and lean forward... and hold on tight." Dong-ha chuckled softly.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

I haven't thought that far, yet! "Uhm..." Hotaru tried to enunciate her thoughts at first before she blushed as well. "I hope to achieve the same success as he did, at least. I guess that's why he's able to support so many children! He takes after my mom, a lot, with commerce and trading. It's not surprising that he took over most of my mother's former businesses. He probably has a nanny for each child. I can only hope to be so prepared and well-off, to support my future family."

"Then, in that case...I'm guessing you must do a lot of crouching and leaning on a horse during your travels?" She asked curiously, completely assuming that horses could run forever. "I could definitely see that it wasn't as comfortable as I thought it would be."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"That... is far more are among the Unicorn. I think that some of the noblewomen have wet nurses but... I think that most women rear their children themselves." he looked at her quizzically, wondering if she actually did not like children. "I think that mother's... and father's love is all the children need really." The last bit he muttered, unsure if he ought to voice such an opinion. "Neh.." he tried to banish the awkward moment with a shy smile.

"Well, yes and no. When you ride slow... and you usually ride slow when you want to cover distance, you can sit on the saddle.. more or less comfortably. Well, at least you get used to it. Anyway, the horses cannot run that long distances. Um... actually, if you have a man and a horse run for a day, chances are that man gets further." Dong-He explained. "It's that riding is way more convenient and if you ever need to go really, really fast for a moment... horses are better." Of course they were.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Oh! I see..." She nodded slowly in understanding. A part of her wondered if she signed up for this miai too eagerly now, with the talk of having children and raising them. Just moments before, she despised how she was thought to be the sheltered 'baby' of the family. Was she rising to the occasion, or biting off more than she could chew? "Well...I'm sure that's something I will have to learn naturally when I find myself in the situation of motherhood! I think it will probably come naturally for me." Probably. Hopefully! Or I'm f-Fortuned out...

She looked quizzical for a moment. "Oh...but you would probably still prefer to travel by horse, if you had the choice? That seems to be a lot of things to take in, but probably better experienced for myself when I try horse riding?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I am sure you will. You seem like a kind and understanding person." the shy smile still flickered on his lips. "Of course." Dong-Ha nodded. "Sore.. body is a small price to pay for not having to actually walk all the miles your horse does. And yes, we can also try galloping, though... maybe when you are riding with me." Running before one knew how to walk was generally bad idea.

"Though, I think I have bothered you enough for a one day." Dong-Ha noted, shuffling his feet to make it easier to stand up. "It was a pleasure, though." he glanced at the shochu bottle, realizing he hadn't offered her any. Then again, she hadn't come off as a sake person to begin with.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru looked to the sochu bottle as well, also realizing that they didn't have any sochu either. She wasn't too heartbroken, as she wasn't much of an alcohol person to begin with. She stood up and chuckled slightly. "Ah...maybe we'll have the sochu another time then! Sorry if my tea took over the conversation."

She bowed, "It was wonderful having you here, carry the Fortunes."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Maybe some other time, then." Dong-Ha replied, wrapping a cloth around the bottle. If the fact that the bottle remained unopened bothered him, he didn't show it. "Not like it'll go bad, eh." Unlike the more perishable yokan they had shared between them. "No, honor was all mine, Bayushi-san." he waved his hand in the air as if to brush of her kind words. "We'll see day after tomorrow then."

Grabbing the bottle he had brought with him, Dong-Ha stood up and lurched towards the yurt 'door'. He offered her a quiet "Good night." before sneaking out of Hotaru's yurt.

/exit