(Day 8, LE) Sweat in the Inner Circle (Open, Expecting)

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki frowned a little. "Maybe." She sighed and shook her head a bit. "I know some of my brothers will like you. Sora is good, and Yuuta is still young enough that he likes everyone." She giggled a bit. "Father will, I expect, warm up to you, maybe Mother as well. She's always liked theater, though maybe it would be best to ease her into Moto styles, neh?"

The question over children didn't really catch Yuki off guard, but it still surprised her. "I...hadn't really thought about it." She paused. "I think, maybe we can take occasional trips out with the yurt, and we should definitely teach them to ride." She nodded.

[Moto Butaj]

Butaj listens intently and recalls the conversation with Hirase. "So your sister won't? It's normal that not everybody like each other. Butaj's life has been about how to keep a smile with such people around. So don't worry too much." He smiles reassuringly. "And your mother will be eased into Moto styles, haha!" On the other answer he nods too. "That's a start, and Butaj will also pass oral traditions and teach them to play. Butaj will also like you to meet Gortun and her family among the Iuchi. After the parents died this is Butaj's closest relative. Gortun has given birth recently too." It is deeply ingrained in Butaj's idea of the world that young mothers bond and form community that it goes without saying.

[Asako Yuki]

"You has family among the Iuchi?" Yuki smiled at that. "I don't suppose any of them are Shugenja? Shugenja are highly prized among the Phoenix. Well, any clan really. If someone in your family has a history of speaking to the kami, that does increase the chances that one of your own children may have the gift."

[Moto Butaj]

"Gortun is a woman of rites and customs and her husband knows magic tricks, but Butaj doesn't know about sorcerers in his family. But Butaj doesn't know half of his parentage." He laughs, trying to overcome wistfulness. "Maybe Butaj is a son of a great sahir, summoner of jinn? Maybe he has the blood of jinn himself?"

[Asako Yuki]

"Rites and customs?" Yuki grinned. "That's just as good. I'm sure she has so much to tell." Yuki giggled at talk of Butaj being the child of Jinn. "Wouldn't that be something? We would have to be careful or our children might start floating around or granting wishes."

[Moto Butaj]

"Yuki already knows she's taking risks here as Butaj is no ordinary man with mysterious past. Floating babies it may be!" He laughs, but then remembers. "Seppun Hitako has a small jinn, and calls herself sahir. She has also asked questions about spiritual side of Butaj, she's looking for a husband with spiritual side. Butaj thinks he has convinced her not to consider Butaj."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki tilted her head to one side again. "A small jinn? How incredibly odd. Was she trained by the Jade Champion, perhaps? I know he occasionally calls himself a Sahir."

[Moto Butaj]

Butaj nods. "Butaj didn't know people of the Sands already live here and hold grand positions."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki sighed, it was still all the talk among the Inquisitors, and the Isawa were still outraged. "Hai, it was not exactly a popular assignment so far as most Phoenix are concerned, but I think that has more to do with the station than the man."

[Moto Butaj]

"So the Phoenix don't like each other with the people of Jade? Perhaps it's good that it's Butaj who talked with Hitako, not you." He frowns. "Butaj wishes he had known that sooner. Butaj knows too little about likes and dislikes in the East."

[Asako Yuki]

"It's not that I dislike them it's..." She wavered a bit. "It's complicated. The Phoenix in general and the Asako Inquisitors in particular have long been the undisputed champions of orthodoxy in magic for Rokugan. The creation of the position of Jade Champion is seen as... meddling. It creates uncertainty in pursuing their task and reduces their power."

[Moto Butaj]

"Riding into their pasture? Butaj understands." He frowns, considering new information. "Butaj wonders how your kin that may soon be Butaj's thinks about the Iuchi. Their magic is very different from yours, Butaj has heard."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki frowned, nodding. "There's been a lot of talk about it. They're still, very uncertain. Coming on the heels of the Jade Champion as well, they aren't happy." She paused. "But I can't really say what that might mean. I don't really have many dealings with Inquisitors, or high ranking Isawa really."

[Moto Butaj]

"Those Inquisitors sound like dangerous people. Who are they really?" He tilts his head.

[Asako Yuki]

"They serve an important role in keeping Rokugan safe, by ensuring that no dangerous magic is spread through Rokugan. They primarily fight against Maho and the Enemy in the South." Yuki explained simply. "They are dangerous to their enemies, but they serve the Empire." She smiled a little.