(Day 4, EA) Back In The Saddle Again

[Matsu Kogo]

"Imagine how you felt when you woke up the day that you left Lion lands to come here. Then imagine your first day waking up here. I imagine that both days were filled with anticipation, excitement, and uncertainty. Not knowing what to expect." He looks up at the sky.

"Your life becomes anticipation, excitement, and uncertainty. Every day a new adventure to partake in. Always moving forward and learning to never look back or question what had happened before that day. It helps you see that while the road that helped you arrive where you are is important, but not as important as the road that you are looking down. That each step forward should be taken with confidence and not be avoided because it too will be in the past as soon as you take the next. Living that way... that is the way one can truly understand how to let go of Regret and ensure it never has meaning to you again. That you live your life for the future by building on the past."

She listens intently, her body continuing to relax into the unfamiliar posture. "Are you sure you are not a poet Shinjo-san? Your words are so...evocative. I feel I can almost see the picture you are painting." She smiles a bit. "Perhaps this will be the real teaching you provide me Shinjo-san. This idea....it has not been my way. But it sounds...liberating."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I have no doubt that after you've lived long enough with a Unicorn, you'll start to see that way of thinking. Especially if you get the chance to travel with him. You certainly have the openness of mind to let him sway you so. You must simply let him in," he replies. He moves one of his hands to pat one of hers. "I've got faith in you that you'll be able to live that way yourself."

[Matsu Kogo]

"I have no doubt that after you've lived long enough with a Unicorn, you'll start to see that way of thinking. Especially if you get the chance to travel with him. You certainly have the openness of mind to let him sway you so. You must simply let him in," he replies. He moves one of his hands to pat one of hers. "I've got faith in you that you'll be able to live that way yourself."

Let him in? But...what if I make a mistake? But isn't that the point? Not letting someone in is also a mistake. Especially here,
at this event.

"You have a great deal of faith in me. I appreciate it." She pauses. "What does that mean for the Unicorn? Letting someone in, I mean." She pauses. "I know for Scorpion, sometimes it means sharing a secret and I suspect every clan has their own way of seeing it. But I do not know how you would see it."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Just accept their words, feelings, and intentions. Don't judge their mistakes too harshly. Be accepting and open to possible futures with them, whether as allies of mutual benefit, friends, or more," he replies. "Let your understanding of them as an individual be fluid and accepting. Give them a chance to prove their worth to you and your value as a person to them."

[Matsu Kogo]

"Just accept their words, feelings, and intentions. Don't judge their mistakes too harshly. Be accepting and open to possible futures with them, whether as allies of mutual benefit, friends, or more," he replies. "Let your understanding of them as an individual be fluid and accepting. Give them a chance to prove their worth to you and your value as a person to them."

She murmurs to herself, puzzling through this new philosophy. "Acceptance. " she stays quiet s moment. "You have given me much to ponder Shinjo-san. Intention was...not a prized thing in my school. Actions were primary. Results. One was sufficient or one was deficient. " Sye places her cheek on his back, leaning into the motion of the horse, finding it oddly soothing. "I suspected that the Unicorn would change the Empire with their return...But I am not sure I suspected how much. "

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

When she rests her head against him, he smiles a bit to himself, glad that she was learning to relax a bit more.

"I'm guessing that most of the empire will still be much unchanged. It's a big place with many clans that hold to their own traditions. It will change more for those individuals that marry a Unicorn than those that simply interact with them. But I imagine that's not much different for any individual marrying someone from another clan. There are always adjustments that need to be made when two people marry."

[Matsu Kogo]

When she rests her head against him, he smiles a bit to himself, glad that she was learning to relax a bit more.

"I'm guessing that most of the empire will still be much unchanged. It's a big place with many clans that hold to their own traditions. It will change more for those individuals that marry a Unicorn than those that simply interact with them. But I imagine that's not much different for any individual marrying someone from another clan. There are always adjustments that need to be made when two people marry."

She can feel something of the rumble of his voice through his back. "I had not thought of it like that, but you are right. If I married into any other clan, there would be inevitable changes and adaptations." She lifts her head for a brief moment. "Where would you make your home, if you were wandering and serving the Empire? Would you have a place that you returned to?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"That is not something I am certain of, given our new life we must adapt to. I imagine that it would be wherever my clan told me I would live when I was home. For the Unicorn, I suppose that's as easy as setting up a yurt on the outskirts of town. Not sure how that's handled by the other clans," he replies. "But I'd hope to not spend a great deal of time at home probably."

[Matsu Kogo]

"That is not something I am certain of, given our new life we must adapt to. I imagine that it would be wherever my clan told me I would live when I was home. For the Unicorn, I suppose that's as easy as setting up a yurt on the outskirts of town. Not sure how that's handled by the other clans," he replies. "But I'd hope to not spend a great deal of time at home probably."

She blinks but ponders the thought. "I am unsure as well. Most Matsu seek to stay within the clan. Perhaps I can ask some of my Lion kin here." She pauses again. "If someone were to marry into the clan, how would their need for a horse be handled? I am sure you do not have many extra roaming around."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Depending on need or proven worth. It's something that would potentially be granted if the clan found it necessary. Or if that person entered one of the clan's schools that provide them for the students I imagine. They might also be able to earn enough favor to be granted one by their lord for service rendered."

[Matsu Kogo]

"Depending on need or proven worth. It's something that would potentially be granted if the clan found it necessary. Or if that person entered one of the clan's schools that provide them for the students I imagine. They might also be able to earn enough favor to be granted one by their lord for service rendered."

She listens intently. "I am glad to hear your steeds are so respected by your people." She pauses. " I Have been peppering you with questions. Do you have anything you wish to know of me or if Rokugan? I lay whatever knowledge I have open to you, as you have been so kind to do for me. "

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"It's my pleasure. I'm glad to help you to get a better grasp of myself and my clan," he says.

"I guess my most pressing question would be what do you hope to be doing for your duty in the future?"

[Matsu Kogo]

"It's my pleasure. I'm glad to help you to get a better grasp of myself and my clan," he says.

"I guess my most pressing question would be what do you hope to be doing for your duty in the future?"

She ponders this. "That is a good question." She thinks on it for a moment. "I am...unsure. I know more what I would not wish to do. I do not wish to join the Imperial Legion, though it is a position of much honor and I do not wish to become a fixture at court." She pauses. "I have occasionally thought of joining those who protect Imperial magistrates as they dispense their duties. I suspect Noburu and I could be a formidable team in another's defense. "

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Aren't the Imperial legion and the Emerald magistrates both under the command of the Emerald Champion? We were told that the Emerald champion is the commander of the Emperors military and law enforcement. Wouldn't the individuals assigned to protect such a magistrate come from the legion?" It seems odd to him that one person should have control over both of those powers on behalf of the emperor.

[Matsu Kogo]

"Aren't the Imperial legion and the Emerald magistrates both under the command of the Emerald Champion? We were told that the Emerald champion is the commander of the Emperors military and law enforcement. Wouldn't the individuals assigned to protect such a magistrate come from the legion?" It seems odd to him that one person should have control over both of those powers on behalf of the emperor.

Kogo looks confused for a moment. "I believe they come from different groups, though they are all under the same control, you are correct. " She frowns a bit. "Perhaps I have misspoken. What I mean to say is, I would prefer to be assigned a duty such as guarding the Imperial Magistrates or cartographers rather than being part of a Legion such as the 1st, which is composed of the elite warriors of the Empire and is a source of fierce competition and pride to be a part of. "