[D7 EE Saksaha's] Halp!

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"My grandmother used to say that fools want Benten's attention, but wise women want Hotei's." Saksaha rubs her cheek and looks at Dong-Ha sympathetically. "Maybe this is what she meant?"

Of course Saksaha can only sympathize, not really quite empathize, since the only person singing to her had been little Matsu Yurio and she's not one hundred percent certain the song hadn't really been about Fiyanggu the goat.

"Usagi-san and Bayushi-san are both good women, I think. Both clever, also. Bayushi-san is more shy with her thoughts, is all. I am glad I don't have to choose between them... argh, no, that is not helpful. Sorry." She takes a sip of tea and thinks. "Well, all the three of them know is that they are not the only one who likes you. Or... whatever it is this Seppun feels. Anyone may like anyone, isn't that right? They do not know how you feel about each of the other ones."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Well, Bayushi-san is tending to shrine of Hotei. Does that mean anything?" he interjected, trying to tap into the sometimes questionable wisdom of the Moto. "Uh, I mean, maybe my pursuit is a folly, seeing how Ide-dono values us. Both Bayushi-san and Seppun-san are apparently good matches for any of us. Yet, I feel like the littlest Hare has a lot to offer. She is wive beyond her years and..." he frowned. Being cute was not an attribute that benefited his clan or liege lord.

His eyes widened with Saksaha's unintentional slip. Dong-Ha.exe crashed for a moment again, though this time the computations passed the event threshold of PG-13 for the briefest of moments. "Uh, yes. Bayushi-san is more shy, though when I took her riding, she tried to gallop. Gallop the first time she got on a horse. Thank Fortunes she didn't break any bones!" he huffed. "Thank good for Poppy being as stupid as she is, not trying to throw her off." Shaking his head, the young man spoke again. "I need to talk to her. Explain that I... uh.. might want someone else. And ask her about the cage." Problem was that of course Hotaru was allowed to pick anyone she wanted.

"Yeah, I bet they don't. I'll try to talk to Seppun-san tomorrow. Sort it out with her, try to figure out her actual motivations. I don't feel like marrying someone just because they are interested in my craft. Hotei or no hotei." Dong-Ha's fingers slipped to fondle his stones as he were seeking safety from them.

"So what about you, cousin. I see you've impressed a Lion." he asked with the faintest of smirks on his lips.

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Yes," Saksaha nods, "talking to Seppun-san seems better to me than not. I don't see how you can decide what to do about her if you do not even know what she's thinking. But I had no thought that Bayushi-san would be so daring on horseback." She raises an eyebrow as she swirls the tea bowl gently to cool its contents a little. "She was, um, a little shy of Fiyanggu and the other livestock, when first we met. Of course, it is true that one of the lambs had just taken a taste of her straw garment, that kind they all wear here to keep off the rain. So maybe she had a reason then." Her lips quirk.

"Anyway... I like Usagi-san, and she is very learned, but she has not a high rank in all these tests either, right?" Saksaha asks, as delicately as she can manage. "Higher than me, of course, but that is not to say much. Even if you like her, will you be able to choose each other?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Dong-Ha chuckled as he visioned a goat taking a bite of Hotary's cloack. "She's eager to learn, at least." Dong-Ha's tone implied that he saw no problems with that. "I was surprised... and then I was running after Poppy as fast as I could. Running after a horse." That never worked out well. "Well, luckily she managed to stop her without falling off. She said that... she got distracted by the spirits of the air. That they delighted in what she did. Little fuckers." he added, muttering under his breath as he brought the tea cup to his lips.

"No, she isn't doing that well, so chances of us ending together are low. Yet, Hotaru-san said I ought to seize the moment, or that I would surely doom myself. I can but try, neh." he shrugged, letting his left hand to fall on the floor. "Which is why I need to talk to both Seppun-san and Hotaru-san. Ask them to reconsider." he paused for a moment, sighing yet again. "Well, I didn't really think that this miai-thing would be a simple occasion, but this got more complicated than I really expected."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Oh, the spirits! I wonder if Bayushi-san's children would have this gift also? She said she was the only one in her family, that it is more usual in some of the other tribes of the Scorpion. But if you do not want to marry her, I suppose this is no worry of yours." Saksaha chews her lip and watches the swirling patterns of her tea, a sudden thought occurring to her. "Well, be gentle, will you? She is a nice girl. I wonder, when she said you should seize the moment, was she really talking about Usagi-san?" Would the Scorpion diviner have been too shy to drop more than a hint, if the divination actually referred to herself?

She gives him what she hopes might be a reassuring smile. "At least you have found one person you really think you will be happy with, and others who like you. That is very good." With a sigh, she adds, "I am not so sure for myself, though I think there might be some here I could get along with, at least."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Possibly." Dong-Ha spread his hands, feeling flustered. Discussing potential spouse had been awkward enough and now Saksaha had brought fourth the matter of children. "Uh... I don't think it matters. I mean, she said that her parents don't have the gift." Which would have implied that the talent was not hereditary. "She had plenty of siblings though." He added, as if trying to find something good in Hotaru's bloodline. "Well, I'd rather marry Tomoe-san. But if Bayushi-san chooses me, I think I'll manage. She is kind and while she seems to have a wild side I think... I could learn to live with her, if you understand?" Dong-Ha tilted his head to the side as he gauged Saksaha's reaction. "I don't know if she deserves gentle after her song today."

"Well, if she had meant herself she ought to have said that!" the young man was slowly staring to lose his patience with women. It felt like they made less sense than the Moto seers known for tripping balls all day long. For some reason, Saksaha was not counted among women in Dong-Ha's mind. "Shy or not. And what gives you that idea anyway?"

"Uh, yes, it's not like it's all bad. Well, as soon as I can figure why Seppun-san would be choosing me. I'd hate to marry someone just because they think it's their duty to find out our secrets."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"I don't know. It was just a thought... divinations are hard to read so clearly," Saksaha admits with a shrug. "Seize the moment maybe means many kinds of actions depending on the mind of the reader, and of the one asking the question at the very moment of divining. But this might also mean your guess is the best, since you were the questioner." She pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear and says with a little less confidence, "Anyway, it is not so easy for everyone to just say what you feel about someone, if you do not know what they feel about you. Until the Moto make us all sing songs about it." She giggles, tinged with a little remembered embarrassment.

"And that would be a bad reason to marry, you are right, if it is what Seppun-san thinks. But I hope not. I would not want to be a curiosity for somebody to collect and store away. I guess you don't either."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"She seemed rather certain if her vision." Dong-Ha insisted, patting his knee with his palm to emphasize the point. "And again, what she'd gain from lying? Who are we to resist the pull of Fate?"

"Feel... we had barely met. No-one falls into love with anyone in two days, really." he looked markedly at Saksaha. "Other things..." Dong-Ha bit his lip as he swallowed the rest of the sentence, still uncomfortable of discussing such things with her. "Uhh.. you know." He was fairly certain she'd know. Saksaha was no blushing maiden like Tomoe was. "Well... I sure hope everyone was earnest. Though... didn't some of the girls sing about girls? Ide-dono won't be happy about that..."

"Not really no. I'd rather continue my life as it is." he took a sip from hos cup to calm himself and to give himself some time to think. "But well, the rules are what they are. If Seppun-san calls my name there isn't much I can do."

"Same with you with Matsu-san, neh. You have talked with him I take it?"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Ohhh..." Saksaha answers Dong-Ha's significant look with a slightly embarrassed but knowing smile. "Well, maybe. No one should fall into 'other things' in two days either, not here, but..." she sighs. "I guess no one can help thinking about it. It is not so good a way to make decisions, though. Maybe some people already found this out. Or others will after Ide-dono hears about those songs."

"Matsu-san..." Her cheeks color a bit and she shakes her head, brows drawing together in an expression of bewilderment, and possibly some exasperation. "I've talked to him two or three times. He was always polite and curious, but I did not expect... that." The blush deepens. She runs a finger around the rim of her bowl to give herself something to do with her hands. "I had no idea he was interested. If he is interested. He seemed more curious about cheese than me, before."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Well, if the talk in the camp is to be believed, some have had little else on their minds." Dong-ha muttered, his expression rather sullen. "I mean... good for them, I guess." he didn't sound too certain about that. "Well..." How did you discuss horny teens with a member of the opposite sex? You did not. "I don't know. There are better ways to learn to know others. Like talking."

His own fling in the past had not involved a whole lot of talking, and while he had been very fond of her, he had had never chance to learn to know her well. The long shadows had reached for her, her face had melted away, and someone had cut her down as an act of mercy. Sometimes the young man hard time recalling her name.

"Uh, what I've talked to him, and I've met him... twice, Matsu-san seems like a decent man." he tried to reassure her while remembering that Ide's opinion of the small Lion was less than stellar. "Cheese over you? Tsch. I know... nevermind." he almost said too much without thinking. "Uh, maybe he's just shy to show his emotions? I think one of the Ide mentioned that the Lion are careful to show what they feel. That that want to keep their faces."

"Maybe you ought to talk to him?" Dong-Ha asked innocently. "

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Maybe," Saksaha says, a little uncertainly. "He was not shy to show what he felt about his cat, or his ancestors, or his sports-ball game..." and then there was that one verse in his song about the goat... she gives her head a little shake to clear it. "Maybe I should talk to him again. He was friendly. And decent, as you say. Though I don't think he will be one of the ones who choose early," she adds, unconsciously echoing Dong-Ha's thought. "And there is also that Soshi Yuuru, he will choose earlier, I think, and we talked of how we might get on. He did not sing to anyone, though, I think. Unless I was asleep for that... it was all very long," she admits with a self-conscious laugh. "But I think he might be one who talks to many girls."

"Well, Grandmother used to tell my brothers you ought to ride a horse before you buy it." A moment after saying this she realizes why her older brothers had always turned bright red when they heard it. It sounds much cruder out loud, somehow. "But... but that would be very foolish here. You couldn't... well... not with everyone you might choose, and you wouldn't want to anyway. Talking, talking is good."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I don't think Soshi-san san for anyone." Dong-Ha offered helpfully. "I haven't heard his name being connected with anyone, either." Except for Tomoe.. He quickly brushed off that line if thoughts. He could not marry her, not unless they eloped, and Tomoe was too decent to try anything silly like that. "Uh, it could be also that Matsu-san misunderstood the Moto intentions, but... still, why sing about you?" Maybe the smallest of Lions had not met many others.

"I haven't talked to him, but I can ask Tomoe-san what she thinks about him? She days they've met before. If you want." he wasn't going to force the matter on her. "No, you wouldn't want. What would your future spouse thing of you, if they found out." he added, hoping that they wouldn't need to return to that particular topic.

"So, what you think of the experiment we had? Curious, wasn't it." the young mystic was grinning like Cheshire cat from an another alternate universe. "It is as the legends would tell us. The spirits do not understand meishodo as we do. They do not mind. We are free to do as we want with our powers."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Well, if you will talk to Usagi-san again anyway..." Saksaha trails off, a little shy about asking the favor directly, and fidgets with her tea bowl instead. "And maybe Matsu-san is like I try to be, just hoping for someone who will not make him unhappy. When I see him again I must ask him directly, though. There's one other man, the Dragon who the Ide favor so well... I have no idea how he likes me, but he says his heart is not given away, and he is good to talk to. Maybe it is silly to think that with all the women at the miai to choose, he would like someone at the bottom of the list, but..." she shrugs with a diffidence that is not quite genuine.

"Yes, that was a great relief," she agrees about the experiment. "I did not like at all to think we might offend these spirits, or invite some undue influence with our practices." One hand slips up without her really thinking about it to touch the collection of charms hanging around her neck, fingertips brushing each familiar set of textures. "Is this knowledge a thing you and the others wished to keep close? Another Rokugani shugenja, Seppun Hideo-san, also asked me about it some days ago."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I will, most certainly." She had sung for him, filling his heart with hope and yearning. "Togashi Odd-san? Yes, I've heard of him. Doji Fukkawa-san told me that is here to find real love. That he had said as much, at least." Dong-Ha recalled his encounter with the Crane. "His people, the Togashi are apparently an enigmatic lot. They live in seclusion, and somehow they are both monks and samurai. They rarely marry, instead swelling their number via adoption." he looked markedly at her. Such arrangement didn't sound anything like the Unicorn were used to. "So you might to want to talk to him as well." Dong-Ha spread his hands ever so slightly as if to indicate that he had no better ideas.


"You tell me. We are now both free to continue our ways and know that the legends about the origins of meishodo are indeed true." he nodded smugly. It was his line of school that carried the oldest of traditions and it had been good to see that the teachings Dong-Ha had studied as child indeed seemed to contain all there was to be known on the matter. "I think that if we try to hide things, it will only make other suspicious of our incentives. The natives are a traditional lot and are suspicious of everything new. Sometimes for a reason." he could recall Tomoe's story on the Battle of the White Stag. "Last thing we want is the others to think they need to fear or doubt us. So I would be as open as possible."

"I mean, you'd think they'd have told us to keep our mouths shut, if the did not want us talking? We are supposed to build trust and connections."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Real love. Can anyone find this in one week?" Saksaha asks of the tent ceiling, leaning back on her hands. She shrugs one shoulder sightly and says, "Togashi-san told me his teachers sent him here to search for 'motivation.' Maybe this is what he meant? The Dragon are an interesting people. I think they have many things in common with us, but also many other things that are not like anyone else at all."

She nods. "This is true. Why should we mind anyone knowing these things? If they want to learn our way of doing magic, it means more ties between our people and others Well, I will write a note to Seppun-san, then. Did you know," she adds, reminded of something she'd almost forgotten, "someone told me it is a crime to 'harbor a foreigner' in this country. And when I asked how to say who is a foreigner, there was no very clear answer."