Dark Edge Village

Mei sits inside her tent and reflects on the past few days. After some time she realizes she simply cannot clear her mind and sets out her tea set, performing a ceremony for herself.

----Rolls----
[D10 LE] Tea Ceremony TN 15: 4d10o10k3 21 +1 Void from LE onward.

"Mei-chan? Are you here?"

Mei smiles

"I am! Please, come in!"

He entered the tent, smiling as he saw her.

"Good, I was hoping I'd find you. It's been a good day, I hope?"

"It has! Though I wasn't sure how to carve that silly bean
It wa so small."

Mei stands and embraces Kemuri in a hug.

"How was yours?"

"Good." He hugged her close. "I was alright with the bean, but I really need to work on my caligraphy."

"It is an art form I need practice with as well. Many duelists at the Academy chose it as a skill to master, claiming it mimiced the sword."

Mei shrugs

"I chose horsemanship to to honor my family name instead. It would be interesting to see who is the better iaijutsu practicioner now"

Mei steps back from the hug and motions to the tea set.

"Would you like tea?"

"Hai." he nodded and sat down. "I don't see how either calligraphy or horsemanship complements iaijutsu. But, I don't really understand the art itself."

"They are abstract ways to think about the art. Calligraphy for example gives one a steady hand and fine tunes wrist movements. Horsemanship teaches one to be aware of everything around them. Iaijutsu uses both skills to be successful."

Mei pours Kemuri a cup of tea, this time without the ceremony attached to it from last time they shared the drink.

"I suppose it is like the challenges the different families of the Unicorn set up. A few people have been saying how little the skills apply to the direct teachings of the family schools, but abstractly, they fit in perfectly."

"All of it felt unusual." he agreed. "Regardless, I wish I had performed better."

Mei places her hand on Kemuri's cheek and looks him in the eye.

"Kemuri-kun, you performed the best out of all the Unicorn men. You were amazing."

She smiles and laughs slightly.

"I should have focused more. My late arrival was just too much to overcome with the nadoko it seems."

"You are amazing, regardless." he smiled. "I wish I had done better, because I want to be with you. I have hopes for tomorrow, but... everything is still so uncertain."

"I have faith."

Mei pours herself a cup of tea and sips it slowly.

"After all, few wish to anger a Kakita trained duelist."

She laughs loudly at her joke.

"No matter what happens, I am so happy that we danced together." he smiled.

"We shared many good memories. The dance. The race. The Tea Ceremony. Our hunt...I am grateful for it all."

Mei moves to sit next to Kemuri and rests her head on his shoulder again and closes her eyes.

"You make me forget about the many worries this world gives me."