[D8 LE, Tomoe's] Hare-mon, I chose you!

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I know my dreams are made of you... of you and only for you." he gasped softly, enthralled by her softness and her scent. Slowly the callused fingers slid upwards to caress her throat. "You... I ..." the poor man wasn't making much sense at this point.

Unsure what to do with the Hare in his hands, he pressed his mouth against her ear, almost purring as he did so. "This is so so so so bad... and good at the same time. You... my body.. burns."

[Usagi Tomoe]

Were Tomoe a weak woman, she would have succumbed then. Instead, she was still decided that she would not do anything more that would hurt their standings in the competition, and she thankfully had a small voice in her mind that reminded her of it, despite Dong-Ha's words of passion.

Unlike her pitiful attempt against his hold before, she now managed to shift enough in her position to turn and slip an arm around the Unicorn and pull him down onto the floor beside her. Falling back on her side next to him, she let out a brief but lively laugh. "Careful, I might just have to use the sake to quench the fire... and I'd hate to let good sake go to waste."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Uh..." he blinked, his breath still deep and rasping. "You would, wouldn't you." Dong-Ha chuckled softly, sliding his arm under her neck so that she could use it as a makeshift pillow as his other hand moved to rest her hip. "Maybe... Maybe it's a good idea to rest a bit." the young man bit his lip softly, hoping she wouldn't misuse the opening he provided her.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe could be a sly fox sometimes, but she could also be a benevolent one. And she didn't take advantage at this moment.

Her unusual eyes looked back at him in silence for a few moments, taking in his form and his face. Probably for the best she'd give him a rest from the teasing for now.

Reaching out, she gently tipped his chin up ever so little, so that their gaze could meet. "Is there anything you want to talk about, perhaps? We could share stories well into the night, or speak more of our hopes and dreams for the future..."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Uh... yes." If he hadn't been flushed from their previous activities, Dong-Ha would have blushed, caught red handed as he had been. After a brief moment he spoke again. "I want to know everything." Dong-Ha grinned. "What is your favorite food? Are you ticklish? What should I do if you get a... spell." the last question brought some of his excitement down.

[Usagi Tomoe]

She managed a smile, even with his last question.

"Let's see... hmmm... if I had choose, I'd probably say okonomiyaki is my favorite food. If I'm ticklish?" she covered her mouth as she chuckled. "You'll have to try finding that out some other time. I won't tell."

Tomoe took a momen to clear her throat. "Uhm... well, first would be to try to stop me from falling, or at least gently put my body down, on the side if possible. Don't try to hold me down," she shook her head. "Someone did that to me once, not knowing what to do when it happened... I ended up with a dislocated shoulder."

"When it stops, check for injuries, if I have trouble breathing, I might need help to clear my airways..." she tried to keep it a little professional, knowing that Dong-Ha was familiar with medicine, at least, but she still found it a little embarrassing to speak of. "And... stay with me until I seem to be awake and aware of my surroundings. It's usually a very draining experience physically, so... rest, and water too when I seem to be fully conscious, is what is needed. This is just me either, though, so it's good to remember if someone else suffers it when you're nearby."

She knew of at least one other who had the same condition here at the miai, so it was probably good to educate on the condition.

"What about you? What is the food you like the best? Favorite color?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Mhmmh, okonomiyaki. Something fried?" he had never heard of the thing. "You won't tell? What's that..." Dong-ha's fingers crept upwards from her hip, tenderly poking at her side. "Here?" He pressed slightly harder as he reached the spot under her ribs having apparently missed the notion about 'other time'.

"Ouch..." he winced as she mentioned the dislocated shoulder. "The lapses must be really violent then." there was a hint of worry in his voice. "I will try to remember that. I'll talk to my mother, ask what she knows... or if she knows someone who'd know more. We'll make it, don't worry." Alas, the poor young man was all too optimistic.

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Ah it's... not fried no," she chuckled, wondering how to best explain the dish, when Dong-Ha's fingers began to creep up her side. "Noo..." she squirmed and tried in vain to supress her laughter. "Eee... not there! Alright, alright, I'm ticklish!"

Tomoe took a moment to heave for a breath when she finally got a reprieve for it. "Ah, it's not they're violent, but uhm... holding someone very tightly when it happens usually only hurts them. I know it can seem much worse than it actually is." She didn't want to say right now that there was a bigger chance she could choke on her own spit, than to actually hurt herself physically during such a fit.

"Now, do I have to find out if you're ticklish to get answers out of you too?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Heh..." the tickles turned into a more tender touch as Dong-Ha figured that the heimin going around might not see a difference between private tickling and private snuggling. "I'll stop now..." he muttered, smiling. "Need to think your neighbors." The fingers kept brushing softly against her side. "So no, ask away. Anything."

"So basically I should let you trash... if that happens?" the same concern still colored his voice. "I'll try to remember that, though it might he hard to stand there and watch you suffer."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"It usually doesn't last for a very long time, and it's not as violent as it sounds," she tried to assure him, placing a comforting hand on his cheek as she gave him a brave smile. "I've been told that it can look worse than it actually is, especially if you're not familiar with it, but I promise you I'll be fine."

"So... only fair that you tell me what your favorite food is? I'm betting it's something I've probably never heard of before, either."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Even with her assurances, a slight frown remained on Dong-Ha's face. "I just don't want to see you in pain." He murmured as he slowly stroked her side. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Uh... grilled lamb with falfal 'ahmar. You put pieces of meat and pieces of falfal 'ahmar on a skewer and you fry them over fire. You can sprinkle some spices too, to add some taste." he explained. "Umm falfal 'ahmar is about the size of my fist, bit larger maybe. They come green and red... mostly hollow, the seeds taste awful, so you need to scrape them off before you eat it. You can eat them raw, but they taste better when they've been softened by fire."

Dong-Ha regarded Tomoe with smile, waiting to see if she had something else to ask,

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Then don't think about it... at least not tonight," she said, raising her hand to boop his nose with the tip of her finger.

"That sounds... rather interesting. I don't think I've heard of this fal... farufa..." she frowned as she stumbled over the foreign words. "I'll have to get the hang of that one eventually. Right, I didn't even get to tell you what Okonomiyaki is, before you decided to tickle me." She huffed, pretending to be annoyed by it, but she soon enough broke into a grin.

"It's kind of like a pancake, prepared on teppan. The batter is made of flour, grated nagaimo, dashi, eggs, and shredded cabbage, but you can top it with almost anything you like; various sorts of vegetables, chicken, shrimp, octopus... I'm sure you could top it with things like grilled lamb too, or other things you like."

"But," she propped herself up on her arm to look at him better, "is there any kind of food you don't like?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

He blinked as she booped him, but did not pull away from her. "I don't know if it even grows here. There's so many foods I'll never be able to have again." There was a hint of sadness in Dong-Ha's voice as he was coming to terms with the great change in his life. "Sounds pretty rich." he noted, recalling how 'bouncy' she had felt under his fingers. "And it sounds like you can put almost anything into it."

"Uh... I don't know. I find the rice balls without stuffing bit bland, but I have to say I haven't eaten anything I really detested. I mean.there are some spices in the Burning Sands that scorch your mouth senseless. But not like I brought any with me." He leaned closer, brushing his nose against hers. "So what's your least favorite thing? And what's your favorite thing?"

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Hmm... could it be possible to cultivate it here, you think? If someone brought seeds to plant, perhaps?" she had to suggest, not only because she wanted him and the other Unicorn to enjoy the foods they had come to like in their travels, but because she too was very interested in it.

That he felt plain riceballs to be boring, well, it wasn't really surprising if he had enjoyed a life of spicy food, Tomoe thought.

"Hm... least favorite thing? Nattō, is one, blegh. Fermented soybeans, if you aren't familiar with it. It... smells bad, and it's slimy and stringy... no, just bad all around. People who eat that stuff have no rights to complain about the cuisine your people brought with you. If it's slimy, and smells bad, then I don't like it." She wrinkled her nose, almost mimicking her clan's namesake.

"Favorite... hummm... that is much harder, you know," Tomoe giggled. "Relaxing in the hot springs, after a long day, with some excellent tea." She had an almost wistful sigh as she spoke of it. How I miss a proper bath! "What about you? Your favorite thing, and least favorite?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I don't honestly know." he shrugged. "I have no idea how to grow things." Nomads had very few fields to tend, and while the Unicorn heimin had started cultivating the land that belonged to them, Dong-Ha had only very rudimentary understanding of how the process worked. "I guess someone might? We were never the created farmers, really."

"Fermented beans? Why would you eat rotten food." he sounded surprised and Tomoe could feel his hand tensing momentarily under her head. His discomfort was brought to an abrupt end her wrinkled nose stole his attention.

"Bath... bath would be all that bad. Though we'd usually bathe in cold streams. Warm baths sound... amazing." The lands further north were less volcanic and thus had fewer hot springs for the wandered to find. "I really hate being cold and wet." Which kinda replied to her question. "I hate when it rains. That's why I mentioned it in my song. It just feels miserable and then you get cold, eventually. Unless you find a shelter."

"But my favorite thing, right now, is you." he smiled gently, reaching to plant a softest of kisses on her nose.