[D6 LA] Fair Trade

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Thank you. Whew! Okay." Tomonaga took another deep breath. After that, he seemed to relax a little, leaning forward a little more, if not so much as when they had kissed.

"Yeah, let's keep going." Tomonaga said, his weight shifting for the impending motion. "I've been out here a number of times, but always on foot. You don't get all that far doing it that way. I'm curious to see if there's anything that I've missed, something easier to find on horseback."

[Ide Samai]

Samai gently pulled the reins, and Scirocco straightened with disappointment. Still, he was a dutiful horse. And a handsome man.

"Would you like to steer him a little?" She asked softly. The mood was different again, though thankfully to a... safer area.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Yeah, sure." Tomonaga said. Now he leaned forward again by necessity, his chest pressing gently against Samai's back. His hands sought the reins, holding them a little uncertainly.

"Uhhh, when I rode Scirocco at the event, he seemed to handle everything on his own. Now..." He shrugged. "I might need your direction a bit, here. Do I just kinda tug a little on one end?"

[Ide Samai]

"Yeah, sure." Tomonaga said. Now he leaned forward again by necessity, his chest pressing gently against Samai's back. His hands sought the reins, holding them a little uncertainly.

"Uhhh, when I rode Scirocco at the event, he seemed to handle everything on his own. Now..." He shrugged. "I might need your direction a bit, here. Do I just kinda tug a little on one end?"

"Oh? He likes you then." She gently laid her hands on his, and started guiding him. "Hold it firmer... if he starts a sprint, we'll fall off." Ignore the thought of her falling om him, their limbs entangled...

"If you tug one side of it, he will turn that way. You rode those... small horses? Ponies?"

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Right, okay." Tomonaga said. Following her instructions, he took a firmer grip on the reins. It felt pleasant, having her hands resting on his, her back against his chest. Pleasant, but not so intense as the kiss had been, and the moments that had followed that. Which... was probably for the best. Probably.

Experimentally, Tomonaga tugged, guiding Scirocco towards the base of a gently sloping hill. "Yeah, I guess you'd call them that. They certainly weren't war horses, or even riding horses. They were just village horses. I think the workers would use them to help haul heavy things. It's a pretty prosperous area." He shrugged. "The horses couldn't go very fast, but they were patient and... calm, I guess I would say. I enjoyed it."

[Ide Samai]

Samai laughed gently. This wasn't the teasing giggle, something a bit more sincere. "Well, Scirocco is patient... or well, lazy at least. Unless it involved food. Or battle."

She smiled, and slowly straightened, her head bumping into his chin gently. "Gomen!"

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Oh, really?" Tomonaga said, his eyes flickering downward to Scirocco's gently bobbing head. "How does he react to battle? Are all Unicorn horses fierce, or do they get training to match their, errr, partners? I suppose if you found yourself in a battle, a horse that could protect you would be good, too."

At Tomonaga's direction, Scirocco began climbing the hill at a leisurely pace. It was a gentle slope, but it went on for some ways, making it rather sizable.

Tomonaga's head reflexively jerked to the side as her head bumped against his chin, but it wasn't painful. He laughed gently. "Not at all, Samai-chan. Couldn't be helped. Here..." He moved his head to the side a little. With him leaning forward as he was, it brought them nearly cheek to cheek, his face freshly-shaven and soft.

[Ide Samai]

"Well, he mostly protects me. I don't have much for self-defense, besides feminine giggling." She smiled at him, though it was difficult to see at the odd angle.

"He is mainly quick, darting in and around our opponents." She extended a hand and gently caressed the horse's mane. "He's my yojimbo that way."

She leaned towards him a little, a stray hair brushing past his freshly shaven face. "Hai, much better."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga chuckled at that. "Hey, use what you have, whether that's a cute giggle, or a yojimbo horse. Speaking for myself, well, my duties are as a merchant, so..." He sighed. "Still, I've had a little training in protecting myself. More, if you count growing up with four rough older siblings. They stuffed me in a sake barrel once, you know? It was empty, but I still smelled like sake for weeks after that."

As Samai's hair brushed across his cheek, Tomonaga let his head turn just a little more, allowing his cheek to brush hers from time to time as they moved.

Scirocco's effort finally paid off, and they crested the hill. It flattened out noticeably, going on for some time. "Nice view." Tomonaga murmured as they slowly rode along the top.

[Ide Samai]

"Aww, you poor foal..." She looked up at him in sympathy. "I'm sure that must have been rough... four siblings? That sounds like a lot. I.... had a brother. Sort of. He... died before I was born." It wasn't something she brought up often. Truthfully, it didn't hurt... it was hard to miss someone you never knew.

"Mhm... are you talking about the view, or?" She was worried that the sudden change might seem... morbid.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Foal? Actually, Tomonaga found that rather charming, coming from a Unicorn. His expression become more somber when she mentioned her brother. "Oh, I'm sorry." He responded in automatic sympathy.

Her joke made him chuckle, though. "Actually, I was talking about the new view, yes. Not the beauty that I've been looking at since we started." He smiled at her, turning his head slightly, his lips just stopping short of brushing her cheek.

"But yeah, four was a lot of siblings. Especially when they're all older. I'm the youngest by about five years. It's... something." He said with a sigh.

[Ide Samai]

She held her breath, a part of her longing to have his lips brush her face... but it didn't happen. She wasn't sure to be glad or sad... She wasn't sure she could handle it now.

"That does sound a bit... rough. Have your siblings trained in your family's school too?" She leaned slightly into him, though her skin was still a breath's away from him.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Yes." Tomonaga said with a sigh. "And between five and ten years before I had done, too. On account of their being older and all. By the time I'd finished, they already had established positions in the family business. Good ones, too." He sighed.

"Fortunately, I do fit rather well into this role that I do have. I wouldn't mind if it were larger, though. Time..." He sighed again.

"But you." He murmured, his breath warm against her skin. "An only child, now. That seems like it would be so different..."

[Ide Samai]

"Yes." Tomonaga said with a sigh. "And between five and ten years before I had done, too. On account of their being older and all. By the time I'd finished, they already had established positions in the family business. Good ones, too." He sighed.

"Fortunately, I do fit rather well into this role that I do have. I wouldn't mind if it were larger, though. Time..." He sighed again.

"But you." He murmured, his breath warm against her skin. "An only child, now. That seems like it would be so different..."

Samai smiled. "Yet you carved your place out. You are a resourceful courtier Tomonaga-kun. Don't underestimate yourself." She gently raised her hand and traces a finger on his cheek.

"It was... well, it was what it was. It is dififault to raise a child on the journey."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

He'd resolved to be good... but really, there was only so good he could be, right? As her finger traced over his cheek, he turned his head, kissing it softly.

"Oh." Tomonaga frowned. "Yeah, I guess I hadn't really thought about that. I guess... well, you had wagons, right? I know that goods were carried in them, and even shochu was brewed in the backs of them. That seems like it must be how pregnant women traveled? And children?" He looked at her for confirmation. "But still, it seems as though Unicorn families would be small."

He cleared his throat. "Five is a little large for Crab... but certainly not unheard of."