Hurt (D11, EE, Yuki's)

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki's heart clenched as Tomoe mentioned Butaj and tears welled in her eyes. Apparently Tomoe had horribly misjudged how well that wink would go over with Yuki. "H-hai, I see." Yuki managed to get out, her gaze averting to the ground.

"He is young though, is he not?" She paused. "Did he seem to have a hunger for war like Moto Khulun, that you saw?"

[Usagi Tomoe]

Oops. Baka! Tomoe mentally kicked herself for that slip back into her usual behaviour. This was not the time to try to cheer her up with easy-going attitude!

"Yeah... he seems young. I don't know how old he is, but I suspect younger than the two of us, maybe a year or so?" It was hard to tell, since he was taller then herself, but he had such a baby-face. "Hmm... hard to tell, but my gut-feeling says no. He seemed very inquisitive. Very curious. I think he might be more interested in exploring than going to war, but it's hard to tell with young men sometimes."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki frowned a little and waved all the talk away. "What about you and Iuchi-san? You must be excited to not only get your man, but return home with him too." She smiled.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe's features softened as Yuki turned the subject of the conversation over to her.

"... Yes, I'm happy to know I will be sharing my future with such a good man. It's been... well, being only me and father after mother and Tamaki-nee-san passed away, it's been a little empty and lonely. I look forward to bringing more happiness to my family now, with him." A slow rosy color bloomed in her face as she talked. "We'll be spending the next months meeting eachother's families, and do our pilgrimages together to pray for a happy marriage."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki managed to not burst into tears again. The hurt was dull enough to survive this now. Still, this called for something to sooth her nerves. She had promised Butaj, but things had changed. As Tomoe spoke, Yuki got out a small, ornate wooden box and her smoking pipe. She glanced up at Tomoe.

"And one blessed with many children, if I remember correctly." She smiled to the woman. "I will pray for your success as well."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Thank you." The box did catch her attention, and seeing an opportunity to speak of something else than their current lovelives, Tomoe jumped at it.

"My... that box is really lovely! I don't think I've seen anything like it before."

[Asako Yuki]

"I would expect not. It wasn't made in Rokugan." Yuki said with a smile and opened it, taking out a small paper bundle which she opened to reveal some sort of resin. "I hope you don't mind if I smoke, I find it helps to calm my nerves."

Yuki held out the box for Tomoe to examine if she so wished.

[Usagi Tomoe]

"No, not at all. Go right ahead." Tomoe wasn't really enamored with tobacco or smoking, but this was Yuki's yurt, and right now... anything to make Yuki happy!

With the box offered to her, she carefully took it in her own hands to get a closer look at it. "It really is pretty... where is it from, if it wasn't made here in the Empire?"

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki stuffed the contents into the pipe, then stuffed the paper in and lit it up with a stick that she placed in the small fire at the center of the yurt. Immediately, Tomoe could tell that it wasn't tobacco or opium. This smell was different, and not the least bit pleasant.

The wood is solidly made and instead of having sliding parts to open, has two small hinges on either side that open the top. Every last detail is stunningly ornately carved or shaped, and foreign characters line the outside of the box in a language Tomoe is unfamiliar with.

Yuki took a deep breath of whatever she was smoking, holding it for a few moments before letting it out, politely away from Tomoe so she would suffer the least from the smell. "From the Burning Sands. My father managed to get his hands on it." She explained.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Ew, what is that smell...? The few times her father had smoked had been pleasant in comparison.

"Wow. That is amazing," she focused her attention on the details of the box. "And... what you're smoking came with it?"

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki smiled a little. "Hai, it did. They call it Hashish in the Burning Sands. It, stabilizes one's earth, and dims one's fire a bit as well." She used the common terms for such things.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Well, I've smelled stables that were more pleasant than that.

"I see," she nodded, looking over the box again. "I imagine it will be easier to see things like this in the future, when you think what the Unicorn have brought with them. Makes me curious of what else there is there... I've heard stories of these Burning Sands, and the large city in it. Though I don't think I could make a trip out there to see it myself one day."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki shook her head. "It takes weeks, if not longer." She explained, then frowned. "On top of that, the Emperor has said nothing about changing the injunction against trading with the outside world as of yet, and few are willing to fund such a trip regardless." She smiled, and there was a bit of life in it. "I guess we will see though."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Well, considering the Unicorn's charter... this might even give them a monopoly on such kind of trade," Tomoe mused, clearly interested in knowledge and items from the lands outside the Empire.

"If they take the advantage of it, that is."

[Asako Yuki]

Yuki nodded. "Shame you will be staying in the Hare then, neh? Though I suppose having a husband that was a Unicorn will get you some access." She took another drag of the pipe, and already she was starting to mellow out and lose her nervous, flustered, edge.