[D4 LA] Once upon a time, pony met a bunny

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe listened, not bothered by some of the more unpleasant details. After all, she had read so many accounts of the Battle of Stolen Graves, the words undead, zombies, walking corpses, and similar ones kind of lost their shock factor.

"It was clever of them - to use to their advantage that they were women and be able to do what needed to be done because they were underestimated." And it was a little cute how Dong-Ha seemed so bashful about that. "So B... Vara? The horses joined up with the Otaku from that day on then, as thanks for helping them escape?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"So the story goes." he nodded, though she would only be able to see his pleated hair bob up and down. "Some legends even claim that Shinjo-kami's children... err, Shinjo-kami...err had children with Ki-Rin, a spirit of Heavens... five children." The topic was slightly taboo among the Unicorn and even if the facts were not argues, the implications were. However Dong-Ha was somewhat flustered, having to explain such a thing to a member of the opposite sex. Cute member of opposite sex, to be precise. "Err... so she had five children all in all. One of them took a form of a man, Shinjo Kemuri-shiryo... and the rest of them took the forms of Ki-Rin, the blessed steeds of heavens." This part of the story was easier to tell.

"And well, err... according to some legends, some of the Ki-Rin mated with Vala's herd, passing Otaku's blood into them." However, Otaku themselves did not support this theory.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Well, as far as mythological stories went, that one was a little surprising. She preferred to imagine that a Ki-Rin must've been able to change shape, or Shinjo-Kami could change shape... otherwise, things had been awkward.

"That is a strange story," she said after some thought, "but I have heard of a similar one... one that ties into one of the stories you wanted to hear yesterday. If you are still curious, that is."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Awkward didn't even begin to describe the questions the Unicorn children asked when exposed to this particular legend.

"Yes..." he quipped. "Though maybe we could stop to eat?" Dong-Ha's hand reached to point at a hill on their left. "On top of that, to get a view of the plains." He didn't actually wait for an answer before he dug his heels into Poppy's sides, urging her into gallop. "Hold tight!"

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Uh alri-eek!" the sudden burst of speed from Poppy made her hold tightly onto Dong-Ha again, though not as strongly as she had the first time.

As the initial shock of the gallop subsided, Tomoe looked up to see how fast they were going... and let out a small laugh. Not even the fastest Hare could run as fast as this!

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Like the wind!" Dong-Ha shouted to make sure that Tomoe could hear him over the thundering sound of Poppy's hooves. So they raced out of sheer pleasure of racing, covering the ground as if they were flying over it. With firm hold of the reins, Dong-Ha guided Poppy towards the hill, his long hair fluttering in the wind.

Some exhilarating moments later he tugged the reins, letting Poppy slow down her pace into trot before bringing her into a halt. Beneath her, Tomoe could feel the horse panting. "Fun, isn't it?" Dong-Ha asked as he turned to see how his passenger fared.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Her straw hat had slipped off behind her head and only stayed with her due to the ribbon she used to hold it in place, which now rested against her neck. She laughed a little more and ran a hand over her now wind-swept hair.

"It was... quite fun, yes!" Tomoe giggled with girlish glee. "I can see why the Unicorn like to race their horses now."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Yes." the young man nodded eagerly. "Now.., could you let go of me so I could get off the horse?"

[Usagi Tomoe]

Now she was the one blushing, and she quickly let go of him. "Oh. Right... ehm... sorry..."

But what do I hold onto then?! Don't you dare move, Poppy!

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Poppy, for her part, behaved as Dong-Ha slung his leg over her back, jumping down with an ease born out of experience. "Your turn." he called Tomoe, reaching towards her to provide her help should she require it.

[Usagi Tomoe]

At least now she was grateful for having both her legs on one side of the horse. Dong-Ha's offer of assistance was appriciated, but she was determined to try this herself! Tomoe looked down a few times as she considered the distance compared to her position, and slid down from Poppy's back. Not exactly gracefully with the same practiced ease, but she did it without tripping or hurting herself. Rabbits could jump after all.

"Huh... a lot easier to get down than up," she commented with a chuckle and smoothed out her clothes a little.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Raising an eyebrow, Dong-Ha withdrew his arm. I'll be damned, the bunny can hop.. "That tends to be the way of things. I learnt it the hard way as child when I fell from a tree." he noted, jesting. Poppy, for her part, was poking the ground with one of her hooves as if she was trying to decide if the dry grass was worth grazing.

He reached for the mattress that laid in front of the saddle, tugging it down and unceremoniously tossing it on the ground before kneeling to roll it open. Happy with his handiwork, he then reached into one of the saddle bags, pulling out a small bundle wrapped in fresh leaves. "Please, sit down." Dong-Ha hoped she wouldn't mind such primitive conditions. Some of the guests seemed to have used to more luxurious living.

The view from the hill wasn't particularly impressive, with the Dark Edge Village to their right, and more of the plains to their left. Beyond the village laid the looming mountains that had given the place its name. "I hope you didn't hate it?" he asked Tomoe, turning to face her with the small packet in his hands.

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Yes," she laughed a little in agreement on the way of gravity. "Falling tends to be good lessons in learning that what goes up, must come down. Sometimes with a bruise too."

As Dong-Ha unrolled the matress to sit on, she checked that the bottle with mugicha hadn't leaked during the ride... as well as to take off her hat and brush her long hair that had suddenly gotten some unexpected tangles from the wind. Since the mugicha seemed safe, she found two plain cups carved from bamboo from her satchel to go with it.

"... Hate it? No, no. Of course not. Why would I?" she said with a slightly puzzled smile, and sat herself down. Unlike some of the other guests, Tomoe was used to a simpler life.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

He watched the girl brush her hair with a faint shy smile on his lips. Somehow seeing her sort her tangled hair out felt intimate, though Dong-Ha could not quite explain to himself why he felt like that. Figuring he didn't quite need to, he sat down on the mattress across Tomoe, laying down the bundle of leaves between them.

He opened the packet deftly, revealing four pieces of yokan as well as two short, wooden sticks. Grabbing one of the sticks he duly impaled one of the sweets, bringing it up. "Have some." Flustered as he was, the polite 'please' was forgotten.

"Good." Dong-Ha grinned. "You might have to get used to it, after all." the implications of the phrase did not quite register until some time later, causing him to lean his forehead to his fingers. Discussing the miai with the guests was somewhat awkward as each of the guests of the opposite gender was your potential future spouse. "Err... I mean..." he blushed faintly. "You know what I mean."

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe pressed a hand over her mouth as she giggled. She really hadn't expected any of the Unicorn, who seemed so forward and at ease with eachother, to be... well, so shy and sweet. "... I think I know, yes," she giggled a little more. "Sorry... sorry, I'm not trying to embarrass you."

Giving him a moment to compose himself, she said a quiet 'itadakimasu' and helped herself to the offered yokan.