Dark Edge Village

(Music, maestro!

Or with a good cup of tea and something to read.

While the Scorpions' idea of playing music after the funeral wasn't disrespectful, it wasn't how Tomoe honored the dead, and she retreated to her own tent to relax with some tea and something to read.

Ganko happily snacked on some of the berries she had been given while Rabbit-sensei were re-reading her copy of a... less educational pillowbook, with more steamy content than most historical texts had.

From outside came a scratching at the flap of the yurt. A small voice came through the canvas exterior. "Excuse me. Is this Usagi Tomoe's... err... yurt?"

Tomoe quickly hid the steamy pillowbook away... under... err... the tortoise! Ganko looked a little surprised as the berries suddenly disappeared out of reach as Tomoe lifted her up to put a book underneath her.

"Err... hai! Please, come in!" Tomoe called out and picked up her teacup.

"Oh good. I got a bit lost on the way here, it took some time to find you." Yuki said as she came in. "Oh! I haven't properly introduced myself." She bowed low. "I'm Asako Yuki. I had the pleasure of going to your history lesson yesterday. It was quite nice, and I am certain it helped out our new Unicorn brethren."

The Hare smiled brightly. "Ah, I'm honored to hear that from a member of the Asako! I've been enjoying giving these lessons too, since the Unicorn seem curious and eager to learn."

"Would you care for some tea, Asako-sama?" Tomoe gestured for Yuki to join her.

Yuki blushed slightly. "I was not trained in the Asako dojo, actually." She explained, then nodded to the notion of having some tea. "That would be lovely, Usagi-san. I've never gotten a chance to meet one of your clan before. Are many of you historians? What school did you train at?"

Tomoe poured some tea for Yuki.

"Not really, no. Most of the Hare are bushi, but my mother was a Phoenix before her marriage to my father, and it was arranged for me to train with the clan of her birth. It was an honor to be trained by the Asako Loremasters of your Family."

Yuki smiled. "That would explain your confidence in matters of history. I should have known." She looked down at the cup of tea and spotted the tortoise. "Ah! Who is this companion?"

Nooo... don't move, Ganko! Don't you dare move!

The tortoise was still slowly eating berries.

"Ah, this is Ganko-chan. She was a gift to me from Asako Moro-sensei," she said with a smile as she chuckled softly. "He's got a bit of weird humour sometimes, thought it would be funny to have a Hare with a tortoise companion."

"Will she grow much bigger than that?" Yuki moved to peer closer at the tortoise, tea forgotten for the moment. She glanced at Tomoe. "A common failing among the Asako, I find, is a very... studied, sense of humor." She giggled a bit. "My parents are the worst."

"Not much, I think... tortoises grow slowly, but her kind is a rather small variety. I've read that there are other kinds of tortoises on the Mantis isles that can grow several sizes larger than her and weigh as much as a grown man."

Tomoe sipped her tea, hoping Yuki's attention would stay on the tortoise.

"Studied sesne of humor, neh? That does sound a lot like Moro-sensei and my fellow students," she joined in the giggling. "Your parents were trained with the Loremasters too?"

Yuki nodded. "Hai, I've heard of them as well, never seen one though. I was sort of hoping this might be one." She smiled and examined the tortoise a bit more. She looked at the tortoise, what it was eating, and then noticed that there was a book underneath the food. Yuki sat upright and looked to Tomoe. "Usagi-san. You may want to move the book that is under Ganko-chan, the berry juice might ruin it. As for my parents, hai, and most of my siblings, save for one of my brothers, who was trained as a shugenja."

"Ah... Hai..." lifting the tortoise again, she made sure to let the little animal conceal the book as she slipped it down into her own lap.

"A shugenja, you say? Schooled with the Isawa then, I guess?"

Yuki nodded at that. "Hai, of course." She sipped at the tea and smiled. "Excellent tea, Usagi-san. But yes, he was trained by the Isawa. So far he and I are the only ones not trained in the Asako school. Though I have a baby brother who will be Shiba trained as well."

"Oh, it's just regular green tea with some jasmine," she said humbly.

"Sounds like you have a big family, Asako-sama. They must be excited for your presence here, and the additions you will bring to the family." The Hare spoke with a bright smile.