Yep, still a circle [D2, LM]

[Moto Butaj]

He blinks, his round eyes going rounder. He bites his tongue before telling how silly he thinks it is. "Why?"

[Yuzuki]

"I..."

She didn't even really know why. It was just... a thing! Yuzuki crossed her arms as she thought about it.

"..."

"...I think it's..."

And thought some more.

"...got to do with reincarnation? Like, it's spiritually unclean, and you want to be as spiritually clean as possible for reincarnation..."

Huh.

"Something like that."

She uncrossed her arms.

"You're best off asking a shugenja about it. They'd know better than me."

[Moto Butaj]

"The Iuchi don't tell us anythnig like that. Why would Butaj listen to some other spiritual men who don't understand the Unicorn at all?" Butaj shrugs. "Lady Shinjo introduced many laws but this is not one of them. If it was really important she would have, Butaj thinks. Butaj doesn't want to offend local customs but it looks like some funny superstition of farmers. The Unicorn do not sow, they hunt. Besides, Butaj ate your raw fish and cooked lobster even though it's not something Butaj would otherwise choose as his fill."

[Yuzuki]

"Eh, I'm just saying that's how its done here."

Well, this was getting kind of awkward, although Yuzuki herself didn't seem entirely too bothered by it.

"Probably don't want to call it farmer's superstition in front of most people though. The Mantis understand others have cultural differences and such, but most samurai take this sort of stuff pretty seriously and might take offense."

[Moto Butaj]

"Telling that the whole Unicorn Clan is spiritually unclean because of what they eat is not a pleasant thing to suggest either, Yuzuki of the Mantis Clan." Butaj tries to be, well, polite. He even adds a smile over his frown.

[Yuzuki]

Well, shit.

She wasn't sure if the problem was her own explanation, or the Moto's ability to understand.

"I apologize, Moto-san."

Yuzuki bowed, to underscore the words.

"That is not what I had intended to say. I'm merely trying to explain why things are as they are in the empire. The purity of a samurai's soul of course depends on many things, and none of us manage to be perfect in that regard. Eating unclean food, touching blood, these sorts of things many feel might threathen their purity because of theology. But I think that at worst, they're minor offenses. Unimportant when placed next to a samurai's great deeds in life."

[Moto Butaj]

"It's all right, Butaj knows you didn't mean anything bad. We all need to be careful though. Butaj thinks it will be hard to see eye to eye on many things if everything that is different turns out to be someone's religious taboo." The man smiles more genuinely. "Butaj understands the easterners like when things smell nice, so he makes an effort not to be smelly."

[Yuzuki]

She blinked. And then for a moment her On cracked with a surprised but genuinely amused smile that was then swallowed back. Yuzuki was too cool for that, after all.

"That's very considerate of you, Moto-san. I don't think there's a religious taboo against smelling bad, but I would think women everywhere appreciate a man's effort against it."

[Moto Butaj]

Butaj gives it a genuine thought. "Butaj thinks a Unicorn woman might enjoy a man straight from the ride. Butaj knows such scents don't bother him at all. He could even be happy with them. The smell of yurt is the smell of home. The Moto learn to trust their noses, and if someone is without a scent or just smells like soap or perfume, what can be told? The Unicorn often greet each other by sniffing hair, especially of the younger by the elder, but it looks like it is not practiced around here. When during the feist Butaj greeted Doji Fukawa this way, she was not pleased and rather embarrassed, thinking Butaj had intimate intentions when he just wanted to be a friendly and caring host." The Moto shrugs thoughtfully.

[Yuzuki]

She blinked again. Several times in fact.

Did he just casually talk about smelling a girl's hair? To another girl?

"Uh... yeah, that's... it's probably a good idea to remember not to do that."

Uhhh...

"Best get those misunderstandings out of the way first though, right?"

[Moto Butaj]

"Probably. But Butaj thinks it may be hard. There is no easy way to tell which things can be different before trying them. Butaj has learned a lesson and so has not tried to smell the hair of Yuzuki of the Mantis Clan." The man nods. "Handshake seemed safer."

[Yuzuki]

"Safer, yes. Though I think a lot of samurai might not go for that either. Depends on the clan though, probably. Wouldn't try it with a Crane."

[Moto Butaj]

"Butaj thinks he'll get a sense of these strange eastern customs eventually. They just don't seem too forthcoming to Butaj. Keep the distance, do not touch. Like between enemies, not friends and family. Doji Fukawa was very afraid of some rivals in the room, though she didn't want to tell who. Are there many grudges between Clans?"

[Yuzuki]

"Hmmm," she scratched the side of her head absentmindedly as she looked up at some clouds.

"Well, I guess? There's been wars between clans after all. And of course there's all sorts of political stuff that goes on behind the scenes. I'd be surprised if there aren't any grudges. The Crane have been pretty paranoid though, the past few years. Eh, but don't tell anyone I said that."

[Moto Butaj]

"It's all right. Butaj just wants to know how things are around here so as not to wade into some big trouble. So the Crane are paranoid. Remembered. And the Scorpion? The Lion?"