[D2 LE] Sweets, Cheese, and Song (Amaya's Yurt) [Closed]

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo had paused to see if she had wanted to ask, his eyes on her as she rested against him and stroked the fine silk kimono that the man always wears. He noted the exposed pale flesh, and it test his resolve against the now dwindling effects of the sake. He'd have to focus on telling her about Otosan Uchi, or he may become very tempted...

He smiled at her, adjusting his hold on her to allow to get more comfortable and stroke her sides before he continued.

"The districts often change name, so it's hard to refer to them by name. The first one I will speak of begins by the Bay of the Golden Sun, the harbour that brings ships and goods in from the seas, named because of the way it is lit up by the setting Sun. A quite beautiful sight, even if the district is perhaps not the most enjoyable area of the city. Shosuro's Tear, a very nice playhouse, is based in the district though, so the area still receives a lot of visitors. The house is decorated in scenes of history."

He paused, thinking a moment.

"Forgive me for what may seem a silly question, but have you experienced theatre plays? Did they exist in the lands outside rokugan?"

[Ide Amaya]

The fine silk was nicer than what she was wearing - not that her summer kimono was cheap or coarse by any measure - and enjoyable to the touch, her fingers absently tracing infinite little circles against his back. His voice in her ear, and the whisper of his breath on her neck sent a tingle like electricity down her spine and, had he sufficient angle to see, he would have noticed the little hairs at the nape of her neck stand up.

"It is not a silly question at all, Hideo-San, I imagine the gaijin lands are as strange to you as Rokogun feels to me. And the lands beyond your home are varied indeed. I have never been to a playhouse, nor even seen any body of water larger than a lake, but once I saw a travelling band of actors. They had a wagon drawn by camels, that was painted in blues and greens like a moving oasis. They... they weren't very good," she admitted, "and I didn't understand the story, but we shared our meal and fire with them and they continued on their way and we on ours the next morning."

[Seppun Hideo]

He wasn't paying attention to the back of her neck, although Hideo could certainly feel the warmth from the girls closeness. He brought a hand up to stroke her hair gently as he listened to her tale. He frowned as he tried to work out what animal she was referring to, but couldn't. The frown didn't last long though, and he was soon smiling again.

"Travelling Troupes are quite common in Rokugan; you will likely have some visiting the Unicorn if they haven't already. It's a shame that the performance wasn't memorable though, but it was part of the experience. I cannot say I know what a camel is though" he chuckled "so they also had strange animals in the lands beyond Rokugans borders, which doesn't surprise me. To have not seen the sea before though...I cannot imagine such a thing, having lived relatively close to the vast ocean to the east of Rokugan. A most incredible sight, seeing the ocean when the sun sets, and the light of Amaterasu shimmers off the surface of the water. A view you can see from the lighthouse, which is used to guide ships to land through the bay without the risk of hitting rocks."

[Ide Amaya]

"A camel?" She thinks for a moment, "they're like a big, ugly, bad-tempered horse? Hmm," she tries again, "they are taller than horses, with longer legs and necks. They have big, ugly feet, with two toes, that keeps them from sinking in the desert sand. Their faces are lumpy, not like the straight nose of a well-bred horse. And they have," the hand that had been touching his back withdrew as she gestured - even though neither of them could see the shape she was tracing in the air - "a hump on their back."

"They're slow and grumpy and so tall that they have to kneel down so people can climb up to ride them. They wobble back and forth terribly when they stand up, it always seemed like they would tip their rider right off again. And they smell terrible," she added emphatically. After a moment, "they do have very lovely eyes though," so the Imperial would not think that she could find no redeeming features in the strange beasts of burden, "like your eyes."

She sighs lightly, and her hand finds the man's back again, "the Unicorn reached the Western sea and already been bade return before I was born." She tried to imagine a sea as vast as the sweeping dunes of the Burning Sands, the wind shaping the water into great waves, it wasn't the most accurate mental picture.

[Seppun Hideo]

"So I have camel eyes?" Hideo said, a slight grin at that. He wasn't offended, just amused. "I shall have to consider what this means. However, these animals sound rather...poor in comparison to horses. Why do those outside of Rokugan use them over horses? Did they not have horses?"

[Ide Amaya]

"If you'd seen a camel, you'd understand," she said simply, "big and dark with long lashes." She nodded against his shoulder at his observations, "they are not poor steeds, exactly. The sands are big and dry and deadly. A camel does not go so fast as a horse, but it can go much, much further, and on less food. Because they don't sink in the soft sand like a horse, they can go where no roads exist, and they are strong, like a heavy horse."

A pause, "there are places, I think, where there were no horses, at least not at first, the horses could not travel so deep into the desert without the guide and aid of riders. But I believe they are found in all places now."

[Seppun Hideo]

"I shall accept it as a compliment. Of course if you are looking to my eyes that means I can gaze upon yours" Hideo does indeed look into Amayas eyes "so you may refer to them as you wish."

He noted the knowledge of camels, adding "so they wouldn't be useful in Rokugan, which is understandable. You refer to sand as if there is vast amounts of it to travel through though. Are the lands beyond the empire truly so bad?"

[Ide Amaya]

"As vast as the sea. Sensei once showed me a map, a copy of a much larger one that had been pieced together from many smaller maps." She shook her head, cartography was a little beyond her purview, "I don't know quite how much I really understood of what I was looking at, but sensei had pointed to an area on one side of the map and said to me this is where we are. Then he pointed to the other side of the map and said this is where we must go. The distance between those places was as vast as all of Rokugan, but the rolling dunes reach much further than that."

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo looked surprised at the vast distances. He had no reason to disbelieve the ever-honest Amaya, but it really seemed so incredible that so much land existed beyond Rokugans borders.

"There are many that would find the journey from Crab lands through to your lands tiring. That you travelled over such a distance, and over such terrains..." he shook his head "it is so difficult to imagine."

There was a pause, before he asks "are you happy to have returned to Rokugan? Or would you have been happy to remain in the lands beyond our borders, enjoying the customs of the people who live there?"

[Ide Amaya]

Amaya didn't need to imagine it, she had lived it, for all sixteen years of her life, even if months or even years of it blurred into single, indistict memories. The question confused her, the entire clan had been of single minded purpose, driven by something greater than themselves. Not returning to Rokugan? Just the existence of there being any other choice rattled her, the idea seemed to big to fit in her brain, and she turned it this way and that.

"I'm not sorry to be here, Hideo-San. Perhaps the lands out there contain as many wonders as those you have described to me tonight, but this is my heritage and my destiny. I will see it through."

[Seppun Hideo]

"I never doubted that you were happy to be here Amaya-chan. You and your kin were always destined to returm, and we are glad to see you back. I refer to the sights of the world outside, many I imagine you barely had a chance to experience."

He gave her a gentle squeeze as he added "I am very happy that you have returned. Your kins return also."

[Ide Amaya]

"With so much for me here," and at this she gave the Imperial a pointed look, "I have a whole life of experiences to enjoy here before I so much as consider looking beyond the Empire. I do so want to see the ocean," see added dreamily.

[Seppun Hideo]

"Point is conceded. I shall have to ensure you experience everything our Empire has to offer" Hideo smiled "from playhouses to the ocean. There will be plenty for you to experience, just ask and you shall see it."

[Ide Amaya]

The lantern had been burning lower and lower, but neither samurai had noticed the diminishing light, slowly had it gone. But now the flame guttered and went out completely. Startled, Amaya looked up as the lighting in the yurt suddenly changed from the blended tones of golden fire and silver moonlight, to the cool bluish hue of Lord Moon. As she looked up, her large eyes were washed with moonlight and the storm turned to quicksilver.

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo had been surprised by the sudden vanishing of the light, although his reaction hadn't been as panicked as Amaya's had been. He felt her reaction in his arms more than he could see it, as his eyes adjusted while looking upon her form bathed in the light of the moon, and he held her closer in a comforting embrace, wary of her fearing the worst. He remembered what she said of the dark ride.

"It seems we have outlasted your lantern" he finally broke the silence, his dark eyes never leaving her.