Evening visitor (day 4 late evening, Bayushi Hotaru's tent)

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru cast Baatar a strange look when he scooted off closer to her, easily intruding on her personal bubble of politeness. That's perhaps when alarms started going off that something was up and awkward. Is this some sort of Moto hospitality...?

As much as she tried to let things slide, in the situation when it came to Unicorn customs and how they did things, she flinched away when Baatar tried to embrace her and stammered in shock "-Aaah! Sorry!...what are you doing?! I don't understand!"

[Moto Baatar]

"Oh gods!" Baatar snatched his hand back, as if he had burned himself, and quickly scooted backward, away from her.

"Did... did I do it wrong?" he gabbled desperately, his face burning. "Is that not how you do it here?"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

What the Fortunes?! Hotaru looked rather flustered and very confused at what happened, placing a hand out defensively defensive before slowly dropping it when she saw that he was moving away.

She gave a slow shake of her head, incredulous, "No! It's not! I don't know how you usually have your divinations done, Moto-san...but I think I would appreciate some room to work. It's probably hard to get a proper read from the oracle if you're...really close to me." For some reason?

[Moto Baatar]

"Divinations .... oh!" The young Unicorn covered his face with his hands for a moment as comprehension sank in.

Finally he looked up again. "I've made a terrible mistake," he admitted, managing to say it in an calm, even voice. "If you like, I'll just go." Baatar stood up, ready to leave on her say-so.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru practically screamed internally, her fingers gripping on her yarrow stick box protectively. I swear I mentioned divinations when we first met! Didn't I?! What do you think I'm about exactly? Oh my Kami, this is so embarrassing...to the both of us!

However, she mustered enough will to not explode on the young Moto and took a deep breath to find composure again. "...How about instead...we just go back a few moments? You can come in again, as you did before, and we'll just pretend the whole thing didn't happen. Do you think that's something that would be fairer to the both of us?"

[Moto Baatar]

Baatar nodded wordlessly. The young Unicorn stood up stiffly and found his way back out of Hotaru’s tent.

After a few moments passed, a strained voice came from outside the yurt's entrance. “Hello! Is Bayushi Hotaru receiving callers?”

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Hai! Please come in! Moto-san!" She called out enthusiastically as she answered him in return.

As expected, Hotaru appeared at the entrance of her yurt, opening her entrance to allow her guest in. She adopted a look of surprise, as best she can. "Oh, Moto Bataru-san! What a surprise! I hadn't expected you to come by and visit me, making your way through the heavy rain to just see me! You must be really curious about your fate. I will only assume that you are because I'm a diviner...who divines the future..."

She glanced elsewhere for a moment and then reapplied her smile, gesturing him in. "Please come in!"

[Moto Baatar]

“Yes, it is I, Moto Baatar!” he replied in his best attempt at a formal tone. “I have come here for divination, and nothing more! I am given to understand Bayushi-san has a great gift for divination. Please let us immediately proceed to the divinating, if it suits you!”

Baatar’s face was pale, his posture was stiff and his soaked hair was plastered against his head again from standing in the rain. His acting was certainly not going to win any awards in Shiro no Shosuro. But the young Unicorn tried to put a brave face on the situation, and as Hotaru affected a smile while inviting him back in, he smiled back weakly.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Unfortunately, a second towel wasn't offered for their second take together, so Bataar would have to contend with his soaked hair. Hotaru nodded a few beats and feigned a mock expression of being hurt. "Only divinations? I hope that's not only the case, Moto Bataru-san. Maybe, you would consider me something more than just someone who dishes out divinations. Maybe you'll think of me as good company and stay for a talk, tea too!"

She turned and gasped, "And, what a fortunate coincidence! I just happen to have tea set aside for this occasion, with a cup pre-poured! My talents with reading the future must be that accute and around! I must ne the best around! Please! Have a seat!"

Shuffling her feet forward, she found her seating place once more and gestured Bataar to the spot across from her.

[Moto Baatar]

"Truly, your gift for foreseeing the future is impressive," Baatar said wryly. "I would be greatly honored to share tea with Bayushi-san." He seated himself in the spot Hotaru indicated, at a safe and perfectly respectable conversational distance. A little rain water dripped from his sodden hair to stream onto his face; he tried to ignore it.

"How pretty your tea cups are," Baatar said, trying (with difficulty) to maintain a sincere expression as he picked up the tea cup and pretended to admire it. He was pretty sure it was good manners to say stuff like that. But what was he supposed to say next? "Um... where do they come from?" he asked.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru seemed to casually and politely ignore that there was rain running down Baatar's face and continued on as normal, as they agreed upon. Whatever normality they found together. "Indeed, it sure is an impressive talent that I have!" She chuckled on a comical note.

She blinked once and giggled at Baatar's question. "Where do they come from? My! I'd thought you'd recognize hospitality from your own kin. It was merely what was supplied with the yurt. It seems recently bought from the looks of it, than anything you've brought back from the sands. I imagine that some enterprising merchant came here and sold much of their wares to Ide-sama so that he could accommodate us pretty well. It's a shame that this merchant didn't remain, I'm sure many people would have like to buy things for their suitors by now!"

[Moto Baatar]

"Yes, that would've been nice," Baatar agreed. "It would certainly have been simpler if we could just buy things to impress prospective matches." He brushed his damp hair back from his face with a rueful smile.

"Still, the games and contests have been kind of fun," he said. "I hope you think so too...?"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru took a small sip of her tea and decided that a refresh was probably best, topping off her cup and offering to do the same for Baatar. She looked up at him with a quirked brow. "Simpler? That's only if your matches could actually be bought by things to impress them. Such a thing would get easily out of hand, with people throwing their fortunes away just to get a chance to speak to the most wanted maiden in all of the land..."

She chuckled, "And would Moto-san buy for such a woman?"

"I've found them fun!" She nodded readily with a few quick nods. "I haven't done well in many of them...but I like how it gives an opportunity to plunge into your Clan's culture and pastimes. I'm slowly doing better and hopefully, I'll be able to win one of them, for a change. You must get tired of seeing Crane championing your events, ne?"

[Moto Baatar]

Hotaru took a small sip of her tea and decided that a refresh was probably best, topping off her cup and offering to do the same for Baatar. She looked up at him with a quirked brow. "Simpler? That's only if your matches could actually be bought by things to impress them. Such a thing would get easily out of hand, with people throwing their fortunes away just to get a chance to speak to the most wanted maiden in all of the land..."

"I've heard of such things happening in the Jewel of the Desert," Baatar commented. "Rich men would pay fortunes in gold to be with the most beautiful girls. I.. I don't know if that sort of thing happens here."

She chuckled, "And would Moto-san buy for such a woman?"

"Jeweled earrings, maybe, or silken veils would make a nice gift," he speculated. Baatar looked at Hotaru, wondering how she would look wearing such things. "What sorts of gifts are traditional here?"

"I've found them fun!" She nodded readily with a few quick nods. "I haven't done well in many of them...but I like how it gives an opportunity to plunge into your Clan's culture and pastimes. I'm slowly doing better and hopefully, I'll be able to win one of them, for a change. You must get tired of seeing Crane championing your events, ne?"

"I don't think the Crane have been doing well at the Shinjo games, actually," Baatar said thoughtfully. "I did okay at archery, but better at the egg game. But, are girls really impressed by bringing them eggs? I... I could bring some if that would help."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Sounds like those rich men were courting oiran, then samurai women... "Not quite!" She said with a giggle. "There are gifts exchanged, but that only gets you so far to garnering their attention. I think ultimately, it's still up to us whether or not we wish to reciprocate. You just can't pay your way into something! That's not right! Of course, the opposite is true too, when a man finds himself a valued catch. Gifts are appreciated for their meaning, hidden intent and earnest spirit involved. It's not so much about the riches involved, so that's why artistry usually take a forefront and bonus points given to artistry."

"But...who knows," she gave a hapless shrug. "Some trends might change with the return of the Unicorn, and depends on how the Crane adjust. They are the pioneer of courtship, so they have us believe. Do you think they'll take a like to a ruby over an artfully written poem on a scrap piece of rice paper?"

"Uhm...being good at archery is a good point," she said after being at a loss on how to respond to the egg comment. "I don't often shoot a bow, other than those small ones they have at festival stalls, but it was fun flinging arrows for the air kami to play around with!"