[D5 EA] Firefly, second season

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"When others don't come to you, you must go to where others are found, ne?" She nodded in understanding.

"The Soshi...were interesting people. They are different compared to the Bayushi in many ways, which I easily found myself the odd one out. However, it was good to be among others that shared my talents and my perception. My sensei was quite strict, as some Soshi tend to be. When you're living up a mountain, there's no room for failure or you must just slip off a cliff. We had a sort of low-key camaraderie between us, found amidst upon harsh standards."

"Whoa! Hey!" She cried out loud as Poppy went on a gallop. As instructed, she gripped down on her mane for safety. I'm not yanking your hair, just holding on for dear life... She would try to sit up slightly to avoid the brunt of the ride, but her legs weren't exactly trained enough to do so fully. However, It was quite a sight to see the ground speeding past her...

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Pretty much." Dong-Ha shrugged. "Shinjo-kami wanted to see what laid beyond... and it is said she was happened by what happened in the Empire, and had no heart to remain." She had tried to reason with Fu-Leng after all, and the resulting war had been tough for the compassionate Kami. "We followed her... and by the time my generation was born, the Unicorn knew no other way of life." Hotaru probably knew this, or could guess as much. "But.. it was interesting. We'd need new people, see new places. I recall watching the moon rise of the burning sands, lying on the sand, shivering. I remember seeing snow fall on steppes, and the small mountain streams we'd bathe in. I remember the starry skies over the northern mountains. All the beauty in the world... at our fingertips."

"Strict sensei make you learn." he didn't seem to have issues with harsh teachers. "My father's given me no favors." Dong-Ha huffed. "If something, he's made I work harder than the rest of his students." Having Dong-Ha bring dishonor to his family was out of question. "You still keep contact with the Soshi then?"

"Like the wind itself!" the young mystic shouted as Poppy galloped, crossing distance like only a massive riding horse could. Dong-Ha pressed his arms closer to each other ensuring that Hotaru could not fall from the saddle. He guided Poppy towards a small hillock and up the gentle slope, tugging the reins harshly as they reached top, bringing his steed to a halt. Taking a moment to catch breath, he leaned backwards to give the Scorpion girl some space. "Fun, isn't it?"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru laughed anxious as she rode along with Dong-Ha, wordlessly agreeing with his statement. She was glad to get further support to stay in the saddle, given how small she was compared to both the horse and its rider. When the got to the hilltop, she slouched forward slightly, so that she would move with the horse. At the end of their ride, she gave him a slow now, trying to gather herself and catch her breath afterwards. "...Hai, very thrilling!"

It might have been wonderful to have so many places in your reach, but Hotaru thought it would be difficult to have nothing to call your own or nowhere to belonged to. There was balance in everything, however. Now that she thought about it, her life was the complete opposite, her duty was at the same place she volunteered as a youth... No wonder I'm here!

"Sometimes..." She said, unsure. "I suppose we're only as far as the winds between us, so to speak. However, most of those I've studied with went on to other pursuits unrelated to mine, like the courts or magistrate work. I'm perhaps an exception, as a great rarity in my Family."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Is that so?" He wasn't even sure why priests would wound up in courts or serving as magistrates. Surely there were better uses for their special talents? "So, most the shuganja don't serve at temples then?" He had an image of sacred men and women, worshiping spirits and ancestors in the confines of grand temples.

Once he deemed she had caught her breath, Dong-Ha eased himself backward and took a gentle hold of Hotaru's hips. "You probably want to get on the ground." He eased her on his knee, making sure that her feet ended on the same side of the horse. "I'm going to let you slide down." the young man warned the Scorpion priestess before moving her weight downwards, holding more tightly to let her find hear bearings on the way down.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Some, but not all. We do have enough monks and elders to manage our temples. We're rather politically inclined as a Clan. It's not uncommon for even our bushi to take to the courts, which makes us a rather flexible family. Someone like myself would be considered overly devoted to my field." And probably less fleixble, as a result.

"Uhm...okay then!" She agreed with what they were doing, hoping that she didn't land on her face or fall in the mud with her extravagant clothes. With great care, she roughly slid her way down so that her sandals touched ground again.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

After Hotary had dismounted, Dong-Ha pushed Poppy a few steps further before flinging his leg over the saddle and jumping down on the ground. Dong-Ha undid the straps holding the mattress, grabbing it under one arm while picking up the small saddle bag with other. "So you are more exception than rule then." he nodded, satisfied that he understood the gist of the matter. "For us it's always the Ide who are the diplomats. The first Ide was Shinjo's diplomat... and things have been like that ever since." the young Unicorn didn't seem to mind that. "They have a particular talent... to not upset people."

As he talked, Dong-Ha spread the tatami-mat sized mattress on the damp ground, undid his sandals and sat down on the other end. "I figured we'd eat something before you try your hand with Poppy." The saddle bag was opened, revealing four decently fresh rice balls. "Pickled fish." he figured she might have been hesitant to bite into the onigiri without knowing what was in them. "Asked a serf for Rokugani food. This what he brought me. I hope it's good." Dong-Ha sounded bit uncertain, having not sampled the dish before. "Please sit and have some!"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Hai. As I mentioned before, spiritually is not a focus of the Bayushi family. In fact, my cousin probably honours my Family's diplomatic tendencies more so than I," she nodded a few beats before saying more. "Did you know that he's not longer interested in Ide Amaya-san? That's so strange! I really thought that they really bonded together too. Such a shame."

"...are other people usually upset? I mean, they're different and your different, I could imagine common group to be very hard to find..."

A what, now? she was a bit confused by the foreign word. Whatever it was, it did produce some food. She also smiled at the initiative he showed in laying down the mat for a dry place to sit on. Upon invitation, she eager sat down after her ride. "This is very good already!" she said with a small giggle. "Thank you, Iuchi-san."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Oh is he not? He seemed rather smitten with her." The two could have used a yurt, as far as Dong-Ha could tell. "Does he favor someone else perhaps?" Suteichi had been more superfluous of the two. "Still, I find it equally puzzling that some can find rapport so quickly..." he muttered. "I always thought it would take some more time. Ah.. to learn to know the other person? Otherwise you might become smitten... with the idea of them, instead of the actual person, if this makes sense?"

"Some might. There was this one time where this one trader thought that my dad disrespected him by offering him a bow. The trader thought my father refused to meet his gaze and was thus... scheming something." he tried to explain. "Luckily we managed to sort that out. Without Ide around."

"It's my pleasure, Bayushi-san." Dong-Ha smiled she giggled. "Building bridges between out people..." he looked down at the food. "... one rice ball at the time."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Hai, it does seem like it. It seems that perhaps his sentiments came as an afterthought after the meeting. However, we are a logical Family too, I assume that he would come to his proper sense of what's good for him, and his Family. He must know his own way, of course. I just hope that he doesn't change things so much that they end up being the same. I sort of wish he'd would consult me for spiritual support, especially as one of the rare cousins he has who is capable of such a thing. And a talented one, too," She said with a small shake of her head, as she was a diviner but not a mind reader.

She nodded in understanding, assuming that they would have had a hard time building rapport among savages and a large variety of them. People were complicated enough, and even more so when you multiplied them by the number of foreign cultures.

"You'd find that rice tends to get soggy if you leave them in the water long enough," she chuckled before she took a small bite from her rice ball. "But they can make for a tasty treat. You've picked well. Actually, you've planned quite a lot into this afternoon." Initially, she thought she was going to get on a horse, go in a circle, and they'd call it a meeting.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Dong-Ha frowned. Had Hotaru implied that Amaya was a poor match somehow? Then again, seeing how naive Amaya was, he could not disagree with the notion. When the small Scorpion mentioned being talented, Dong-Ha rewarded her with an encouraging nod. He was convinced of her abilities. "Perhaps he is blinded by Bente-kami... perhaps you ought to approach him yourself? He might not know how valuable ally he loses in you?"

"Well, as I said..." he blushed a bit, avoiding her gaze for a moment. "I wanted to learn to know you a little bit better." She had told him to seize the day, after all. "And after all that you have done to me..." Dong-Ha looked up again, smiling. "I could not help but feel that I was indebted to you." He too, grabbed one of the rice balls and took a bite. To his surprise, the taste was rather neutral despite the lingering flavor of pickled fish. "I mean, that's the whole point of this... miai thing." Poor young man was rather flustered as he inadvertently admitted his budding interest towards the Scorpion. "I hope you don't mind?"

"I've never made anything like this..." Dong-Ha admitted. "It looks like a convenient snack though."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Perhaps! I've already given him my consultation through the oracle and he seemed to have been mildly interested. And I've also offered him my services. I can't say for sure if he's been blinded by the Fortune of Love, or directed by her." She shook her head with a small sigh. "Well, I've done all I can. I can't force feed my advice. Besides! He's got a big event tonight, probably there's much on his mind. All of that coordination and planning, takes the attention right out of the bigger picture."

"That's right," she said with a small smile. It perhaps dawned to her that this was their picnic to share their time together. The only thing that was missing was to wrangle two souls over to tolerate their on-going conversation, but what he prepared did the trick nevertheless. "Don't think too much on paying me back, Iuchi-san! As you said, that's the point of this whole miai thing If there's anything you wish to know, I'd be happy to let you know! Up until now, I thought you were just putting up with my rambling!"

She flashed a smile once more before taking a small bite from her rice ball.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Oh right, the performances? It's quite the talk." he nodded. "That's been perhaps one of the most surprising things. It's not as we don't have musicians and minstrels... but I never expected the samurai to embrace music like this." Of course there had been stories of Doji, but none of the other Kami had been described particularly jovial or fun loving. "And you are probably correct, such an endeavor does require some focus..." Dong-Ha sighed, recalling the duties waiting for him back at the camp. "As we sit here... they are building pyre for the funeral. Someone told the Otaku they ought to burn her... and the Otaku obliged." he added soberly.

"No, I felt obliged." Dong-Ha spread his hands, smiling. "How could I not, after all that." She had read him his omens and taught him how the the priests served their clan in the Empire, both valuable lessons as far as the young mystic was concerned.

"I wouldn't call it rambling either." What was wrong with her, he mused to himself. First Hotaru had seemed to be brimming with confidence and now she called her words rambling? False modesty was a concept that Dong-Ha understood only so well."I think that Bayshi-san is wise as she is pretty." he bit his lip and coughed awkwardly. "Well, I don't think that you have been rambling... or that I'd need to put up with you..." He felt slightly bad, thinking how Hotaru was devaluing herself.

"Uh.." he tried to come up with something to ask to dispel the implications of his own words. "What kind of spouse Bayushi-san hopes to find?" Dong-Ha grimaced. That hadn't been much better.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru paused for a moment and awkwardly reached over to give Dong-Ha a pat on the arm, mimicking much of the same manner that he did the same with her some days ago when she did her divination. She imagined that was a Unicorn's way of showing support or approval. Then again, she considered the possibility that she could be entirely wrong and the touch for support was in a different place. The touch was fleeting, gone as soon as it was felt. "...funerals are one of the hardest duties to oversee, I understand it's a great burden on your shoulder to do what is best and to honour the fallen the same time. However, I think your Clan will stand behind you on your effort."

"If you wish," she said with a chuckle. If he felt obligated to her, she wasn't one to stop him from pampering her with favours. She did indeed blush at the compliments paid to her and cast her gaze downwards for a moment before looking back at him with a small glint in her eyes. "Wisdom sometimes comes easily, but it doesn't come often from a pretty girl, ne?"

Hotaru gave a few nods, growing a touch serious once more as she brushed some hair behind her ear. "There are a few things I had in mind...It would be nice to have a spouse who can complement me well in my spiritual duties or provide me with an opportunity where I can continue to practice my sacred duty, for one. We needn't be in the same occupation, but understand that it's a duty that will require a lot of public time among people. My spouse should have goals and ambitions of his own, I'd like that we have somewhere to go in the future, beyond children...We are still servants to our Clans, ne? Wisdom and compatibility does account for it too, to have a husband who can be understanding and potentially even provide me with guidance from time to time..." She smiled faintly as she was done, for now.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Thank you.." he nodded at the small Scorpion as he felt her touch on his arm. "I hope they do, and while it's necessary task... it's not really something I look towards to." Dong-Ha confessed. "Yet, we all must serve... as we can, neh."

"That... I wouldn't know. I have met girls both pretty and wise before, and I don't think that the two are mutually exclusive." he chuckled. "But well, most girls are pretty in their own way." Dong-Ha muttered shyly. "I don't think I have seen anyone quite as pretty as you, however." There was something in her features that seemed to draw his eyes in. As she brushed her hair, his dark eyes followed the path her slender fingers took.

"I see, thank you." He had had an inclination what she might have been looking and her words had solidified the image in his mind. "There are not many of us here that can compliment you in your duties... I mean, I don't know how well the pious would take to a priest who looks like a gaijin, eh?" Dong-Ha huffed softly. "Other than that, I think what you expect sounds reasonable. I don't think anyone would want an unkind or dimwitted spouse. Or on whose attention laid overtly in the matters of duty."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru gave a few small nods on the matter of the funeral before she hid behind a few small bites of her rice ball. She didn't have anything else to offer in support, given it was such a gruesome and depressing task. It was a duty she could see herself participating in as she spent more time in her spiritual duties.

"Oh?" Hotaru said with a bit of disappointment, thinking that there could be a tiny possibility she could exclusively have both of those traits. It was perhaps already pushing it when it came to attention, as she wasn't covered in the shadow of her siblings for once. "I always thought it was a little peculiar how I've managed to get more people to come by the Shining Retreat..but perhaps Iuchi-san has a point. Perhaps, you can call me by my chosen name? That would be nice, too!"

"I'm sure it might be jarring to some, but I imagine that people will understand in time. The same could even be said when a new priest or miko takes to a temple, people visit such place frequently tend to consider any sort of change awkward. I know I even felt that when I was a small child volunteering there, to be among elders and other monks, getting in the way..." She gave a shrug at the retrospect. "Either joining or coming from the Unicorn Clan, there's a great opportunity to be found in your return. You are looking at your home with new eyes and many doors that could be open to you. People will be eager to know you and you have many places where you can carve out as your own. You can think of each opportunity as a new land to be explored."