When Will My Life Begin? (D4, Early Afternoon)

[Usagi Tomoe]

The Hare blushed a little.

"I guess they are a bit unusual... but I imagine the Unicorn must've seen both beautiful and unusual people in their travels."

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"Absolutely." he nodded. "Many cultures. Many walks of life. There is beauty throughout the continent, just as there is much beauty here in the Empire. But, I've not seen your eyes before, or the spark behind them."

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe smiled. "Jaa, there are some legends going around that fox-spirits have sometimes married worthy humans... if you believe such tales?"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"Sounds like something our kin in the Fox Clan would know about." he mused. "We never encountered anything like that, other than the jinn."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Jin?" she tilted her head to the side, giving him a curious look. "What are 'jin'?"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"Spirits. More than spirits." he answered. "I have no experience with them myself. I've heard stories, but they seem more like fantasy than history. They are like forces of nature, with a will of their own. They can be helpful, but they can also be cruel."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Sounds like an apt description for spirits in general," she smirked. "I'd love to hear stories of them sometime. It sounds like the kind of spirits that feature much in stories and fairytales."

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"The people of the sands have a long history with them, but among us it was only the Iuchi who had significant interaction with them." he explained. "They spent time with and learned from the Jinn during the period when our families had separated.."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"I see," she nodded, making a mental note to ask Yukarin, Saksaha or Dong-Ha about it some time.

"Well... I've already told one fairy-tale about a fox-spirit, but I don't think it was that well-recieved. I think I will stick to history," Tomoe gave a little wink.

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"It was a good story." he assured her. "But, there was an unfortunate distraction. I prefer to tell historical stories, myself. As entertaining and educational as fables can be, there's always a danger of misleading people into thinking the tales are true."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"I agree," she nodded. "It seems some where misled by my attempts at telling a fable, so I heard some were saying rather unpleasant things about it. A shame, really... it was my favorite story when I was a child. I remember feeling so sad for Tamamo-no-Mae whenever I heard it."

"What sort of favourite stories do you have?"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"Have you heard the story of Shinjo's children?" he asked.

[Usagi Tomoe]

"I can't say I have?" she answered truthfully, not knowing she'd hear of Shinjo's intimate relationship with a Ki-Rin later that day. "I mean, other than the fact that she obviously had children since we've heard about those who are her descendants."

[Shinjo Kemuri]

(Sorry, for some reason I thought that thread was before this one. Hopefully, I don't retcon too much.)

"There are many stories regarding them, but the nature of their birth is not truly known." he explained. "It happened after Shinjo broke her promise to never leave the Ki-Rin, disappearing for seven days. She would make a new promise to always return. She had five children, who carried the fire of the heavens, They had great power and could take any form. Four chose what was, presumably, the form of their father, a ki-rin. The last, Kemuri, chose to be human."

He smiled. "He took the name Shinjo Martera. He was strong and fierce in combat. As a child, he gouged out the eye of a would be abductor. He was bold explorer and a wise leader. He was an inspiration to the Ki-Rin, who struggled to maintain their beliefs as they merged with other cultures. A paragon of bushido, he even inspired the Moto to find purity."

"He left the clan, eventually and was not seen for thirty years. But, he returned in Shinjo's darkest hour. She was surrounded in darkness, assaulted by something unknown. The clan reunited and attempted to come to her aid. They were overwhelmed and surrounded. Shinjo ordered her followers to flee, facing the darkness to buy their escape. Her children were with her, including Martera. It was the last they were seen."

"But, we know she will return to us."

[Usagi Tomoe]

(No worries )

Tomoe listened to the story with full attention. Darkness it seemed was something that had been shadowing the Unicorn.

"... how long ago was this?" She asked, thinking back to the trinket Khulun had shown her.