A friendly game of Go [D2, LE, Open, Expecting]

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo walked into the Northwestern Yurts, Noburu at her side and started when saw the burned Yurts. She had heard the rumors, but it looked like things had been rather bad before the fire was put out. Next to her, she heard Noburu growl faintly. She clicked her tongue at her, resolving to keep her eyes open. Something seemed odd here and Noburu didn't growl at just anything. She wandered through the Yurts, looking for the particular Shinjo she had arranged to play Go with.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

Monkhbaatar was lying on the ground outside his yurt, staring up at the sky. He seemed to be enjoying the cooling night. The day had been quite warm after all and this felt nice.

[Matsu Kogo]

Monkhbaatar was lying on the ground outside his yurt, staring up at the sky. He seemed to be enjoying the cooling night. The day had been quite warm after all and this felt nice.

Kogo spotted Shinjo-san and walked over. "Konbanwa, its a lovely night, isn't it?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"It is! The day was quite warm but definitely not the warmest I've been through," he says looking up at her and not moving just yet. "The stars are beautiful too."

[Matsu Kogo]

"It is! The day was quite warm but definitely not the warmest I've been through," he says looking up at her and not moving just yet. "The stars are beautiful too."

She looks up at them. "They are. I suspect you have an eye for finding beauty in the present moment Shinjo-san."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Sometimes it finds me," he says, smiling at her. "And whether I find it or it finds me, it's always a blessing."

[Matsu Kogo]

"Sometimes it finds me," he says, smiling at her. "And whether I find it or it finds me, it's always a blessing."

Kogo ducks her head for a moment, fidgeting with the Go board and hiding her face. One day, I will learn to school my face a bit better. I hope its soon.

"You speak with a poetry to your words Shinjo-san. Have you studied the art of poetry?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I haven't. Like I said yesterday, I just speak honestly and from my heart. Perhaps I should take up poetry, but if I were to I would prefer to learn traditions of the Empire during the time we were away," he says to her, smirking a bit at her embarrassment.

"So we're gonna give Go a try then?" he says, sitting up from his position. "It'll be interesting to see how it works."

[Matsu Kogo]

"I haven't. Like I said yesterday, I just speak honestly and from my heart. Perhaps I should take up poetry, but if I were to I would prefer to learn traditions of the Empire during the time we were away," he says to her, smirking a bit at her embarrassment.

"So we're gonna give Go a try then?" he says, sitting up from his position. "It'll be interesting to see how it works."

Kuso, he saw. I am never going to be good at this...

"I suspect that staying within your style would have its own charm, though many in the Empire would prefer the Unicorn learn and take up the traditions of the Empire." She nodded. "Yes, I have recently been learning the game. It seems intricate and yet simple, which I suspect is parts of its appeal." She sits down near him and sets the game on top of the small bag used to carry it, which was crafted intentionally to make a small resting place to shield it. She begins setting up the pieces.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Be prepared for a one sided match," he says, chuckling. "I imagine my affinity for living in the moment will most certainly result in making more than a few moves into traps you set for me. But I suppose that if it's you, I wouldn't mind getting caught."

[Matsu Kogo]

"Be prepared for a one sided match," he says, chuckling. "I imagine my affinity for living in the moment will most certainly result in making more than a few moves into traps you set for me. But I suppose that if it's you, I wouldn't mind getting caught."

Kogo handles this last sally a bit better.

Etiquette roll in thread: 4d10o10k2 25

"Then the game will be less interesting, if you are not playing with your full heart. Be rest assured, I am a beginner, so I suspect we shall be equally matched. I would not want you to go easy on me. I suspect your Otaku cousins would feel the same way." She smiled in a way that mirrored the mirror of her lion, flopping down next to her with a small snort at Shinjo-san.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Oh, I'll be trying. I just have realistic expectations." He laughs a bit at that. "I imagine you have a much more keen mind for this sort of thing."

[Matsu Kogo]

"Oh, I'll be trying. I just have realistic expectations." He laughs a bit at that. "I imagine you have a much more keen mind for this sort of thing."

"The Lion do love competition. It is part of our way and our training." She finished setting up the board. "Would you like to go first or second?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Well, since I don't really know how it works completely perhaps you should go first and explain how it works for a few rounds?" he offers.

[Matsu Kogo]

"Well, since I don't really know how it works completely perhaps you should go first and explain how it works for a few rounds?" he offers.

"That sounds agreeable. Then I will take black." She pauses for a moment, wracking her brain. "It is hard to explain without showing. Trying to remember Go rules: 3d10 16

Thank god for Bayushi-san explaining this so thoroughly the first time.

She hands him the white pieces, brushing his hand as she does so. "So the game is played by capturing pieces as prisoners or by creating territories that the other player cannot infiltrate. You do so by overtaking the free spaces near or around pieces,which if I recall are known as liberties. Essentially, you seek to contain and control the other player's liberty, capturing their pieces and territories until you win the game."

She places a few pieces on the board, showing some moves. "See, this piece will be captured if I place my next piece here. But if you put pieces, here and here, suddenly I am at risk of capture. So it is important to both consider your own strategy and the other's strategy as you play."

She looks up at him. "Is that clear Shinjo-san?"