(D5 LE, Yuzuki's Tent) Are We Friends Now?

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Fascinating." She peered at the woman. "Do you have more stories of this sort, Yuzuki-san?" Yue was starting to wonder if this Mantis had even more close encounters with death than herself.

[Yuzuki]

"Uh... nothing quite like that. No. I'm only just out of Gempukku after all, life hasn't been that long yet. Oh, I guess I did almost get hit by lightning once. But honestly that's not really a big deal if you live in the City of Lightning itself."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue sat there, rather impressed with the woman's fortitude and lack of Fear. Or boasting. Or really any emotion at all. The Shinjo wondered if the Mantis had a great On or if she truly did not care. "Yuzuki-san, you are quite casual about these brushes with death," she commented. She then let out a sigh, hoping to break the ice more. "I was rattled after I was nearly consumed by that monster."

Would you have been?

[Yuzuki]

"What's there to be rattled about?"

Yuzuki seemed genuinely confused.

"If we die with honor and courage, we are reborn. And if we live, well, then the scary part's already over."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Hai," she said, resoundingly defeated by the woman's mental fortitude. I've been such a horrible samurai! Wait, no, no Regret! Shoot! I don't know!

The maimed woman lowered her eyes. "After the battle, I thought of all the opportunities I would have missed if I had perished there. I made up for it." She looked back up at Yuzuki meekly. "I was selfish and thought only of this current life."

[Yuzuki]

"Well, that's no shame. I wouldn't have liked to be dead either. I probably still have things to do. But I'm not dead, so no sense in thinking too much about it."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"You are a confusing woman, Yuzuki-san." Yue's cheeks flushed and she gave a deep bow. "Gomennasai!" She kept her head on the ground. "I have never met someone as resilient as you, Yuzuki-dono!"

[Yuzuki]

She blinked.

"Uhm," she scratched her cheek. "Thanks?"

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue lifted her head slightly. Alright, that makes her even more confusing.

She brought herself up to her upright sitting position and scratched the back of her head. "Hai. It was a compliment." The Shinjo looked at the cat and saw an opportunity to move the conversation forward. "May I pet Kon?"

[Yuzuki]

"Sure. Just go slow," she said, adjusting so that the cat she was holding was more accessible to Yue.

Kon was certainly the wary sort, but not unreceptive to pets by strangers if not too sudden.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

The Shinjo smiled and held our her one, delicate, much-needed hand to the ferocious cat. "Daijoubu," she said with a smile as she went in to stroke the cat's back.

[Yuzuki]

Fortunately, Kon did not attack the arm with the viciousness of his claws or bite. Instead he just purred in the way that cats tend to do. It was moments like these one might forget that Kon was a destroyer of parties.

"Are cats unfamiliar to the Unicorn?"

She asked a question that might seem odd and awkward.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"I know of cats, Yuzuki-san. However, I have never been close to one." Yue continued to pet the little critter, enthused by the gentle purring. "It was uncommon for my Clan to keep pets on the Ride."

[Yuzuki]

"But, you knew of them, right? I suppose Iuchi-san was making a joke then."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue prodded the cat to test its pudginess. "What did Iuchi-san say?"