Sacking Out...a puppy? (D8 Late Aft. OPEN)

[Asako Hirase]

One of the terms that Hirase had absorbed as he visited the stables and horses from time to time was something called 'sacking out'. From what he'd been able to figure out, the best horses were intelligent; it made them excellent as adults but very difficult while training, since boredom could turn to sullen twitchiness. A good horseman would rustle feedsacks around such 'teenaged' beasts, the motion and sound serving well to accustom the creatures to the surprise without hurting them or making them phobic about things that they'd likely meet up with in the course of their duties.

Following that principle, sort of, Hirase had decided he need to 'sack out' the pup in the hopes that it might be harder to distract that way.

The method was simple enough. He would throw the ball; the pup, who was a natural retriever, got a treat when it brought it back. Little Ichiro was responsible for the distraction, which he did by running by the ball just before the puppy could reach it, shrieking or singing or making whatever noise he fancied. If the dog dropped the ball, Ichiro would get it and return it and then he got a treat.

So far, it was going fairly well. If nothing else, it would ensure the boy slept well that night.

[Shinjo Akil]

Akil walked quietly through the streets with his own puppy. "Now... we have to make you more personable..." How does one teach a dog to be personable? Ah, yes, people!

Conveniently enough, there was Hirase. Of course, Kimi hadn't quite been trained yet, and so the dog ran over to the Asako and started running around him, barking excitedly.



It was probably because of the treats.

[Asako Hirase]

The Phoenix had already observed that little dogs were now a universal phenomenon. This one was one he hadn't seen and he looked down at it, bemused, before turning to look for a keeper.

Seeing Akil, the older man smiled and bowed, carefully timing it for a moment when the little dog was behind him and wouldn't feel a need to do something awkward like try to grab ahold of his sleeves as they draped down.

"Konnichiwa, Shinjo-san. How goes your effort with your new charge?"

Beyond him, Ichiro was in a swift and high-pitched tug-of-war with Hirase's own puppy, each at a different end of the same large branch. Neither seemed to have noticed the new arrivals.

[Shinjo Akil]

Akil made a clicking noise to try to get the puppy's attention. Kimi, naturally, ignored him. "Ah, Asako-sama. The efforts have been difficult, but I would like to think progress is being made," he bowed to the other man easily enough.

Kimi's attention then moved to the stick, which was quickly becoming the most interesting thing in the world.

[Asako Hirase]

"I've never had a dog." Hirase watched as Kimi began 'stalking' the other group. "They're much less trouble than I'd been told to expect. Perhaps it's simply because the boy is nearly as bad."

Raising his voice slightly, he called, 'Ichiro! Come and greet Shinjo-san!"

Obediently, the boy let go, leaving the puppy to spill arse-over-teakettle, giant stick still in his mouth. He trotted over, looking up at Akil with wide eyes before a nudge from his father reminded him he should bow. As soon as he was up, though, he asked, "Do you have a horse? All the other Shinjos have horses."

[Shinjo Akil]

Kimi charged the stick in that instance, now in a full on battle for the stick with Hirase's dog. Akil smiled as the child approached him with a million questions, bowing to him politely... and allowing his kimono to loosen just long enough that the small Ichiro might have caught a glimpse of the scar on his chest.

"Good afternoon, Ichiro-san. I do have a horse, yes, but he's in the stables right now. Perhaps tomorrow your father would let me take you to see him, eh?"

[Asako Hirase]

Dark eyes widened even further, looking like saucers. "Are we gonna do lessons?"

Hirase, for his part, smiled indulgently and said, "If Shinjo-san is willing, and as long as you promise to be as well behaved as you were before."

The boy nodded, now all but bouncing in place with excitement. "Yue-san let me ride hers. We even got to run some and do some hopping and it was real fun! " Ichiro had long since forgotten the 'Liu' part of the woman's name. "She let papa ride, too, but he's big enough to do it by himself. And he didn't fall off!" This was, apparently, a source of great pride to the little Phoenix, who beamed. "Some of the other men she lets ride fell down. She told me so."

[Shinjo Akil]

Akil nodded his head and smiled. "I would be honored to teach. Setem can be a bit unruly himself, but he's a good horse, and so far has been a good horse to teach with."

Oh right, speaking of which. "Ah, Asako-sama, I think I owe you a word of thanks."

[Asako Hirase]

"If I fall, I'll just get up." The boy chirped it with absolute confidence, blissfully unaware how deadly an accident could be. "Like when we went up the grey rocks at home."

That made Hirase narrow his eyes a little and give his boy a Look. Ichiro, happily, didn't even notice. It passed quickly, though, as the older Phoenix turned to smile at Akil. It was warm and, perhaps, a touch smug.

"I am trained to observe and interpret body language, Shinjo-san. I merely applied what I have been taught in a way I thought would benefit Allies. That Benten-kami is served as well is only an additional gift. "

[Shinjo Akil]

He smiled at the boy. "And of course, I'll be there to catch you."

Looking to Hirase again, his head nodded. "It was greatly appreciated, let me tell you. Though it seems I'll be finding out soon how I look in powder blue."

[Asako Hirase]

"The Crane are a fine place for an artist to find himself. They are famed for good reason for their artistry, as Fukawa showed yesterday. They also have peerless warriors, fine duelists as well as a surprisingly doughty defensive force in the Daidoji. Their priestly family is born of the bloodlines of their Clan and mine and have retained the Phoenix love of pacifism since the first." Hirase chuckled, adding, "It is fair to say the Crane are almost spoiled, in fact, with a wealth of talents."

Ichiro, who had gotten a bit bored with all this talk, turned back to the dogs again. "Papa? Can I throw the ball?"

Hirase turned to him, considering. "If you promise to take the ball away from any buildings first. And stay where I can see you."

Whooping, the boy took off again.

[Shinjo Akil]

"So I have heard," he nodded, "and the crane and Phoenix are allies?" His head tilted as he watched the boy run off.

[Asako Hirase]

'Oh, yes." He nodded firmly. "Since the forming of the Asahina, barring a few ripples, it has been so. Most recently, the Crane gave a gift of lands, an astonishingly generous act, that kept my people from starving after..."

He paused, a dark expression going over his face, swiftly controlled.

"...after the Lion."

[Shinjo Akil]

His head tilted. What does that even mean? "Pardon my ignorance, Asako-sama, but I am woefully unfamiliar with recent history. What did the Lion do?"

[Asako Hirase]

Hirase understood that the military history of the Empire was still new to the Unicorn and so wasn't surprised by Akil's ignorance. As uncomfortable as the topic made him, he was Phoenix: Education was his Duty.

"When the Bloodspeaker rose, some of my Clan attempted to broker a peace to stop the bloodshed." By his grimace, Hirase understood how unpopular the choice had been. "For this, the Lion declared us traitors and co-conspirators and used that to march against us. The war would come to be called the War of Burned Wings."

It took a few moments for Hirase to conitnue. "We lost a number of our important holdings to them, along with many samurai, and they pressed ever deeper into our holdings. I myself had to be evacuated, along with the other students at Pale Oak Castle, but a day or two before the first assault there."

A quick glance around ensured that Ichiro was out of listening range.

"Though they were winning, we began to take a toll upon them. And so they unleashed an unspeakable, unforgiveable horror upon my Family's seat." Rare fury lit dark eyes. "They tore a hole between Realms, between our realm and the Realm of Slaughter. As you might expect, there were no survivors among my people."