Now is the Time for Yuu (D2, EM)

[Otaku Imane]

She seemed pleased with that answer and nodded at his response. "So many things to learn it is true! We are home, yet are strangers, cousins, but unknown, samurai all yet foreigners too."

Her eyes wandered over to the horse. "We are trying hard though. Your sense of adventure would suggest a good fit with my clan Soshi-san."

Imane paused to consider his question before looking back at him. "I think I like those I have met so far, though I wonder how long our differences will remain an entertaining oddity in Rokugan? I met your cousin Bayushi Suteichi-san after the feast and he seemed a very polite gentleman. In truth it is too early to tell what I think about all of you, and perhaps you should ask me again once the miai is over. In the meantime, would you tell me about your clan Soshi-san? What should I know about the Scorpion?"

[Soshi Yuuru]

He chuckled and smiled, "The Scorpion? I don't know if I'm all that appropriate to talk for the whole clan. I don't have the most flowery words or proper prose... but I can tell you what it is to me."

He paused for a moment while wandered a bit closer to Imane and her horse. "The Scorpion fill a unique role in the Empire... Many are willing to give up their life for their lord and the Empire. But we are willing to give up everything; our pride, our dignity, our very self. We value Duty, Chugo, more than our very lives... At the beginning of the Empire, the Emperor asked Bayushi to watch over any potential threats that would come from the shadows; the places not usually deemed to be decent by polite company. And so that is what we do. We scour the shadows, the slums, the dark places of the world... and we root out the evil we find there."

He tapped his chest, "My personal duties fall along those lines as well. I'm a law-enforcer, trained in our magistrate school. My duties entail searching, mapping and bringing order to the Shinomen forest which lies west of my homelands. It's a dangerous place filled with giant snake-men, bandit armies, and much more dark enemies."

He shrugged a bit bashfully, "I'm sure someone like the Bayushi you met would have a very different view. A lot of them are a bit more cunning than I am. We take a lot of heat in the court of public opinion for what we do. Men like the one you met have one face in public, and another in private. Many think us to be liars or worse. And honestly, the best basic rule of thumb is to never fully trust a Scorpion if you can help it... but we don't forsake our friends. We're fiercely loyal to those that earn our trust and don't betray it."

[Otaku Imane]

Imane's expression clouded a little towards the end of his explanation but when he was finished she bowed a little. "Thank you Soshi-san, that was most instructive. Your honesty says much."

She looked off into the distance. "Fighting shadows you say? Then perhaps we have more in common than I thought, although my people place great store in facing these things with honour. Perhaps they are not the same things though. The Dark Ride is over after all."

Her mood lightened a bit and she looked back at him with a doodle in her eyes. "Tell me of these snake monsters in your forest. Have you fight then? What are they like?"

[Soshi Yuuru]

"Dark Ride?" Yuuru asked under his breath, obviously not knowing what she was talking about.

"I've dealt with them a little, yes." He paused. "They're big. Bigger than your horse much of the time. Killer strong too. A portion of them have decided to cooperate with the empire, but there are still many who run rogue in the woods. Had a bit of a wrestling match with one once. Thing was strong as 10 men... I could only keep him down for about a minute... just as he was about to break away though a group of friendly Naga... that's what we call 'em... showed up and helped get him carried off proper."

[Otaku Imane]

She didn't elaborate on the Dark Ride because he did not ask if it openly, though she noted his confusion. The talk of wrestling snakemen got her attention though.

"You wrestled a snake man Soshi-san? And they are bigger than Almatar?! That is quite the tale. Would you tell me of these ones that cooperate with the Empire? It seems unusual."

[Soshi Yuuru]

He smiled, closed his eyes bashfully and put a hand up behind his head with his elbow sticking up, "All in a good days work Otaku-sama."

He then nodded as his arm fell down to his side again, "The Naga that cooperate with us are led by a woman called the Tausha. She apparently sided with the Empire's forces during the conquest of the Shinomen. She is the cheiftess of her tribe, only a small number remain of what used to be there, but those who follow her lead are friendly with the empire."

[Otaku Imane]

She looked him up and...well, up.

"Perhaps one day I will see one of these creatures and have a better appreciation for Soshi-san's skills. At the moment I cannot imagine how a man could out-wrestle a giant snake."

It sounded like something from out of one of her father's tales.

"The Tau-sha?" Her accent made it sound even more exotic. "And they are friendly with the Empire. I shall have to mention this to the Iuchi. You said you are a maker of maps, yes? Knowledge of the lay of the land would be of great use to my clan. Are you seeking to join the Unicorn Soshi-san, or to take home a bride to the Scorpion?"

[Soshi Yuuru]

He smiled, "Wrestling a snake is all about applying pressure in the right spots. My school is a school meant to capture people alive... it's what I do. You'll have to see me in action someday."

He then shrugged his shoulders in a friendly manner, "Either way really. I think I could be a decent fit in the Unicorn given the right circumstances. But I'd be just as happy to take someone home with me. Like you said, my skills are transferable."

[Otaku Imane]

Imane allowed herself a little musical laugh. " I did not expect to learn about snake wrestling this morning. You are an interesting man Soshi-san."

Now that their breathing was back under control she looked over to Almatar.

"If you do not mind I would like to continue this conversation from horseback. Almatar needs her exercise as well you see."

[Soshi Yuuru]

He looked at the horse, "Uhhh sure. I don't know if I can keep up though... we already saw he's faster than me."

He smiled a bit and chuckled.

[Otaku Imane]

"Oh I wasn't expecting you to race her. We can ride rings around you and I can practice my combat riding." She smiled and walked over to the horse, swiftly mounting it on one fluid motion that showed size wasn't everything.

"Do the Scorpion maintain a cavalry force Soshi-san? My impression is that the armed forces of the Empire only use their horses to get to and from a battlefield."

[Soshi Yuuru]

He nodded, "They are used mostly for transportation. How are they used in battle? Do they not flee?"

[Otaku Imane]

Imane laughed loudly at that. Well, as loudly as a little Otaku could. She was genuinely amused.

"Oh Soshi-san, I suppose that those little Rokugani horses might get scared and run away." She tickled Almatar behind the ear. "But when the Otaku charge it is the men who flee."

[Soshi Yuuru]

He smiled, "Almatar here is certainly a lot more impressive than any horse I've seen. Do you train them from the time they are little?"

[Otaku Imane]

The horse whinnied, pleased with the praise. Or it seemed that way at least...

"Yes, a Shiotome receives her steed when it is a foal. We are inseparable from a young age, and when Almatar is 15 she will retire and I will have a family then start training my next steed. Several years yet dear."

She patted the horse gently, rustling the coloured mane.