[D2 EE Open] Strolling

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Do you know the local area well?"

The shadow vanishes from her face.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Well enough, though there are not many landmarks to go and see. Mostly it's a relaxing ride on vast open plains. It would probably be best during hours when the sky would be painted with color by the setting sun," he replies with a nod.

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"Oh. I imagine that is quite a sight."

Tsume looks of to the west now, toward the encampments.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I enjoy it even if I do hope to see much more some day. But that doesn't make it any less inspiring each time I see it," he replies. "You just let me know when you're free to do so in the coming days and we'll make it happen."

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"I certainly will Monkhbaatar-san. For now I must be making my way to my new accommodations. I haven't settled in yet."

She stumbles on the name and silently curses her own ineptitude. She pats the horse again in farewell.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I can walk you back. I was just finishing up here anyway and planned on getting cleaned up and prepared for a meeting later," he says. "I didn't intend to cut off our conversation Tsume-san." He smiles pleasantly at her.

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"Oh...well, if you are free that would also be lovely. I don't want to distract..."

Tsume looks to the labor in progress.

"It really is coming together quickly."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

He nods to her before moving to collect his top and setting it on the saddle. "It is, surprisingly. We're not used to permanent construction but the other clans have been helpful in providing assistance with that lack of knowledge. This village is going to be quite something to see in a few months I'll bet. How quickly are you're own clan's construction projects coming along?"

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"Work is slow. The forest is so verdant it resists our construction. We do have quite a lot to work with locally though. Fewer hands make for tedious progress, and all of it is hard to see in the forest so it is far less dramatic."

Tusme ponders.

"A lot of the satisfaction of progress comes in how people see it, and much of what we do is difficult to spot. But we persevere."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I don't doubt that eventually with time the work you do will stand out against the backdrop of the forest. With persistent and skilled hands administrating it, like yours undoubtedly are, I can only have faith. And with so many resources available in the forest I'm sure it will happen sooner rather than later."

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"I am certainly hoping so. We are a small clan but if we can make the trade flow through the forest instead of around it we will have a marked advantage. Also our allies in Tausha's Legion have opened our perspective. I hope that some of what we have learned may be applicable to other negotiations, here and in the lands beyond."

Tsume slowly walks as she speaks, though she still avoids the direct light of Lady Sun.

"What are the places beyond the Unicorn lands and the empty wastes like?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"The steppes and sands have their own unique beauty that is different from the plains we now live on here in Rokugan. They are not forgiving places, making you work for your survival, with dangers and enemies of their own. But like anything in life," he looks to her with a smile, "if you know what you're looking for they'll take good care of you."

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"I suppose that is true, Monkhbaatar-san. Knowing what you are about is a keen part of survival."

Tsume tilts her head slightly, amused at the obvious statement.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

He nods. "There are also no major cities, at least not overly close to the empire. A few small villages and other places where native tribes gather, but even Dark Edge before we started building was bigger. A lot of wide open spaces with natural animals and plants. Sometimes not even much of that in steppe scrublands. But it has a natural and simple beauty to it."

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"An empty land. Perhaps the glory of the fruitful Empire is in its fullness?"

Tsume looks at the bustle of the village, thinking about what it was before the Unicorn returned.