Party for 2 (D3 EE closed - Hideos Yurt)

[Ide Amaya]

"Ah, that's nice," she breathes. She feels incredibly relaxed, physically and emotionally. The late afternoon meeting with her kin that had upset her seemingly forgotten.

[Seppun Hideo]

"Good" Hideo said with a smile, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on the top of her head as he moves his hand down from her neck to her back again, running down along her back a little harder and back up along her sides "you certainly feel more relaxed Amaya-chan" he added as he made it to her shoulders again, running his hands down her arms at her side in a circular pattern with his palms.

[Ide Amaya]

Raised voices outside spoil the moment, Amaya's body tensing. She recognises the voice of the nikutai, even if she can't make out what is being said. The events of just a short time ago crowd into her mind, screaming like a horde of barbarians. Her head begins to hurt...

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo heard the voices also, and frowned. He could feel her tense beneath his hands. It reminded him that Amaya hadn't mentioned what had happened before. He moved to her side again, resuming the kneading massage of her shoulders as he spoke quietly to her.

"Amaya-chan, it's ok. I'm here for you."

He moved his hands off her after a few moments and quietly said "turn over to face me my dear, you'll see that I haven't left. You're entirely safe."

[Ide Amaya]

Slowly she sits up, placing a hand to her aching head. "A moment, Hideo-San, please?" She carefully gets to her feet and tidies her kimono. She shakes out the obi and wraps it around herself with a mechanical detachment. Distantly she remembered her sensei demanding, again! as she practiced wrapping and tying the obi over and over, even though she was stiff and exhausted from riding and her hands ached. She folded pockets into the fabric as she wrapped, and the possessions that she returned to those pockets could be seen more easily now: a pouch that suggested a small amount of coin and a pillow book.

She sat down again, locking eyes with the Imperial.

[Seppun Hideo]

"Ah" Hideo said with a nod. He'd forgotten about the obi, and looked away as she sorted her kimono and tied her obi, turning back when she turned back to him. When their eyes locked, he leans in to give her a gentle kiss, to help her calm, before taking her hands.

"What's wrong Amaya-chan? I could feel you tense when you heard the voices outside."

[Ide Amaya]

She broke eye contact when it occured to her that she didn't know where to begin. Her hands felt clammy in his, but at least they weren't shaking. "Today my kin asked of me something that I do not know how to give, and only two days to give it."

A pause the gather herself, "it was said that a messenger came, the messenger's master requests a meeting. By the ideals of the Ide Emmissary, how could I possilbly refuse such a request? But..." she trails off, and there is fear in her eyes.

[Seppun Hideo]

"Amaya-chan would not be afraid of meeting someone unless there was something that worried her" Hideo commented, giving her hands a squeeze and stroking the back of her hands with his thumbs "I can help you, but I need to know what is happening Amaya-chan. You can tell me, you know you can trust me."

[Ide Amaya]

"You honour me, watashi no oujisama, but I am no one. I once spent three days listening to a pair of merchants complain bitterly about the other, I outlined a compromise for their complaints and, out of respect for my name, they accepted it. Dispute resolved." She shook her head, "this is something my father should be handling, someone with experience, with knowledge."

"You are learned, have you studied much history? From the time of the Kamis?"

[Seppun Hideo]

"How does one gain experience without experiencing?" Hideo challenged with a smile, giving her hand another squeeze "but I understand. I have studied history, hai. One of many subjects I have studied. Why do you ask?"

[Ide Amaya]

"They say there is a trinket. White, made of ivory or bone. It is carved in the shape of a Ki-rin entwined with a crane. It was told to me that Doji-no-Kami gifted this trinket to her sister Shinjo-no-Kami, who swore never to remove it. Does this conform to anything you've read? Do you think you would know the trinket if you saw it?"

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo took a moment to think. "I know this. It was a netsuke, a beautiful creation that Lady Shinjo swore to never remove. I would imagine that she took it with her when she rode out of the lands of the empire with the Ki-Rin, your ancestors. I think I might know it if I saw it, but I've only read descriptions of it. Why do you ask?"

D3 EE Lore: History/Intelligence TN 25 VP spent: 5d10o10k4 34

[Ide Amaya]

She pressed her lips together, she could remember every detail of the trinket Khulun had shown them, and the Imperial had certainly confirmed the Scorpion's words. She wasn't sure if this reassured her, or increased her trepidation. "Could someone create a replica of such a thing?" She shook her head and frowned deeply, "how would we be expected to know the real from the fake?"

Part of her desperately wanted the trinket to be real, but the implications were dark to consider, and frightened her. Surely if the trinket was a forgery, that would make the path ahead more clear? Then we could be sure we were being deceived.

[Seppun Hideo]

"Someone could indeed create a replica" Hideo nodded "if they were able to get hold of the same material, and had the talent of a kami in creating netsuke with said material. If they had such a talent though, it may be impossible to tell unless you asked a priest to look upon the items history - there is a spell that can allow one to do this, although I am not good with water spells, so would br unable to assist."

He frowned.

"May I ask why you are enquiring about a relic from the times of the founding of the Empire?"

[Ide Amaya]

She was cagey, wary as an unbroken horse when first approached with a bridle. Her jaw works slightly as she tries to determine her approach. "The Iuchi are closest to water, perhaps this is something one of my cousins would be able to do."

She looks to him, imploringly, "there are more threads to this story than strings to a kugo, and they twine and knot. and many if these things I know only third or fourth hand. I fear that wherever I start, the result will still fail to make much sense."