Slings and arrows (Day 7, LE)

[Otaku Imane]

Anyone arriving at the archery field would be treated to a strange sight. Almatar and her rider Imane were racing around the field, the targets presently untouched. The Shiotome herself was attempting to use a bow that was considerably larger than she was...and meeting with little success. Every so often an arrow would be released and fail to get anywhere near the targets. Still she persisted, and there was no sound of anger or frustration coming from her lips. Or at least it didn't look that way, it would be hard to hear anything over the sound of thunderous hooves.

Eventually she slowed Almatar's pace and came to a stop. With a bit of effort she tucked the bow into its holder and leapt down fro her steed. Wandering around she began to collect the arrows from where they lay.

( Expecting but open )

[Matsu Yurio]

A blond kitteh was quietly sneaking up on his target. A few quiet steps, then a pause to make sure his target had not seen him. A quick shuffle and he pounced, successfully sweeping up his target.



"Found you, you fluffy ball of ever so annoying fur! Where have you been the last three days?"

He scritched Neko's eare until the cat started purring.

[Otaku Imane]

At the sound of a stealthy person being revealed Imane wheeled around, the borrowed yumi in her left hand and her right reaching for an arrow. As it became clear that this was just a kitteh and the KITTEH she relaxed somewhat and lowered the bow.

"Matsu-san how..." She remembered his song from earlier in the day and was glad it hadn't been about her. "...nice to see you again." A smile formed and she offered a light bow before moving a bit closer. "Who is this delightful creature that you have with you?"

[Matsu Yurio]

He bowed, not so easy with a cat in arms.

"Otaku-sama. I didn't see you there." What a good scout he was. "This is Neko. My little pet who has been absent for the last few days."

[Otaku Imane]

"Oh, she (?) is quite beautiful." I am glad you and not a Moto found her first. "I am so glad you have been reunited." She smiled politely and there was some genuine warmth in there.

"I hope that you have been enjoying the miai so far Matsu-san? The competitions have been quite...varied, wouldn't you agree?"

[Matsu Yurio]

"He always does this when I take him somewhere new. He probably found someone to feed him and decided to stick around there for a while."

The fleabag continued to purr, uncaring of his owner's opinions.

"It has been fun. Interesting. I have not been as successful as I thought I might."

[Otaku Imane]

"Oh I see, he is adventurous then!" She smiled. "Perhaps he found mice in the stables?"

Imane flexed her string hand, the marks deep and threatening to bleed despite her lack of success with the daikyu.

"I am glad you are enjoying it Matsu-san. Your determination and drive to succeed have been noted, even if the scoring has not gone your way. I was fortunate that two of the events played exactly to my strengths. Although I was sincerely disappointed not to strike a third target in the lancing." She had been quite mad at herself at the time.

[Matsu Yurio]

"Well I had no trouble finding eggs in the hunt the Shinjo concocted. I just kept breaking them. I must have eleven or twelve in total at various points. No swordplay or wrestling is a disappointment for me."

Neko decided he was going to stay with his human now he had been found and his eyes started dropping. Designated human would carry him home now, that was how this worked.

[Togashi Udo]

Udo had taken a walk in the late evening. He had two objectives: 1) clear his head and 2) meet the girl he'd sang a song about earlier in the day. He'd asked someone and they said she was this way, so he wandered over.

Seeing her speaking to a Lion samurai, Udo paused. He considered for a moment whether to just move on.

[Otaku Imane]

"Eleven or twelve eggs? That sounds like a lot! Were you ambushed by bloodthirsty weasels?". At least it wasn't toads.... "I would be surprised if tomorrow doesn't present us with a much more martial challenge Matsu-san."

She watched Neko for a moment. "He seems very content, have you had him long?"

At which point That Dragon appeared in her line of sight. She looked at him and blinked. What should she say? Anything? Yes, she had to say something. She had spoken to Kaizen, and his song hadn't been as accomplished, although they had at least met.

"Ah. It, ah, seems we have company Matsu-san. Ohayou Togashi-san." She bowed. "I am...Well, that's a bit redundant now." A slightly bashful smile appeared for a few seconds before she Shiotomed it under control. "You know my name at least."

[Togashi Udo]

Udo smiled. "Hello. I thought it was time we met, as I've heard good things about you." He bowed to her, lower than she bowed. Then he turned to the Lion.

"Matsu-san, this one is Togashi Udo. Forgive my interruption." He bowed to him as well. "When sailing, if a strong wind comes your way, you should seize the opportunity. It is the same when looking to spend time with Otaku-sama. I felt it was time to seize the day."

He gave them each a smile. "Back to archery?"

[Matsu Yurio]

Yurio executed another bow. It was rather stiff, probably from the cat in his arms . . . but it could be the lingering distrust between their clans after the years old 'Hand back the Emperor now!!!' dispute.

"Nature conspired against me that day, Otaku-sama. Badgers, frogs, butterflies, this disreputable ball of fur I hold now. The weasels were the only ones to not ruin my day. I rather ruined theirs."

The next question gained another nod.

"Since he was a kitten."

[Otaku Imane]

"Well I am glad that you have heard good things about me Togashi-san. As a Shiotome I expect to give a good impression. Tonbo Misa-sama spoke highly of you too. She did not tell me that you were such an accomplished singer though..."

Looking at the targets and their lack of arrows Imane nodded. "Training Togashi-san. It was quiet and I wanted to focus. I was just finishing when Matsu-san and little Neko here arrived." She made a face when Yurio mentioned all of the thieving animals. "I am glad I did not encounter any frogs. Horrible creatures."

[Togashi Udo]

"This one is glad he could help you meet your expectations, then." He smiles.

"If you want some quiet and focus, there is no one better to spend time with than a Togashi. We spend extraordinarily long periods in silence," he says with a smile. "Besides, I did okay in the archery contest. Perhaps we could train together?" He looks over at the Lion and says, less enthusiastically. "All of us, of course."

[Otaku Imane]

She smiled politely. "You sing well for someone who spends a lot of his time in silence Togashi-san. Tonbo-sama mentioned that the Togashi are sort of monks and sort of not monks. Could you explain this to me?"

He was a curious fellow, and those tattoos were something else! Imane seemed to be the only one with a bow. "Well I borrowed this yumi, so we could train taking turns?"