The Welcome Dinner (Post-Event Thread) [D1, Early Evening]

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo nodded. "Its a good question. There could be many possibilities. But I would love to hear more about how you saved the Otaku steeds from the City of Sorcerers. That sounds like a worthy tale. Will you be sharing it around the campfire tonight?"

"If not me, one from my family or clan will. It was a big part of our history after all, most Unicorn would be able to tell you about it."

Chi-Pu's stomach grumbles and she takes another sip of tea.

"Speaking of campfires, how do you find the living quarters of the Unicorn? From what I have been told, Yurts are much different than what most of the Empire are used to"

Kogo's face brightens again. "I find them enjoyable. It is a vast difference from what I am used to, yes, but it is also my first time staying in such a place, so I am finding them novel. I may miss a bathhouse at some point, but for now, Noburu and I find them lovely. Plus, it is agreeable to wake up and be able to be outside in a moment. Not a minute wasted scurrying through halls. The fields are right there, waiting for you, as if asking you to come to them."

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

Kogo's face brightens again. "I find them enjoyable. It is a vast difference from what I am used to, yes, but it is also my first time staying in such a place, so I am finding them novel. I may miss a bathhouse at some point, but for now, Noburu and I find them lovely. Plus, it is agreeable to wake up and be able to be outside in a moment. Not a minute wasted scurrying through halls. The fields are right there, waiting for you, as if asking you to come to them."

Chi-Pu nods.

"I am glad you find them to your liking."

"I have never lived inside of a building before, so I do not know what it would be like. As far as the bathing goes, I have a bucket you may use if needed, it is how we all bathe."

Pondering for a moment, the woman places a finger on the corner of her mouth.

"Say, Matsu-san, where will your keep your Lion while you sleep? Do they do well being tied?"

[Shimizu Ryori]

“Tell me a story of your people,” she asks of the Lion.

She offers her own cup for kumis.

He smiles and fills the cup offered from the pitcher in front of him.

"Back in the time of our forefathers, before Shinjo rode out of the Empire there lived a woman, who was known to be a great warrior of one of the local tribes. She and her tribe fought against the Kami and lost and she realized the strength of the great general who she fought, a man named Akodo-One-Eye, Shinjo's brother. She swore fealty to him, and eventually martied him, and she served as his hand for many years, the sword in his fist. Her name was Lady Matsu, and she was the greatest warrior the lion have ever known.

On the day the little teacher came to collect the champions of each clan, the souls of thunder, the greatest young warriors of the Lion stood ready to be choosen by him, they were waiting with thier daimyo and his wife. Akodo stepped away to walk with the teacher and speak with his siblings as the teacher made choices from other clans, when they reached the spot where the elderly Lady Matsu, well over seventy years of age, and his 20 best warriors were waiting he found his wife dusting off her knuckles and a score of unconcious bodies at her feet. She told the little teacher he was welcome to choose any Lion he wished from those standing before him. And that is how Lady Matsu came to ride off with Otaku"

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo's face brightens again. "I find them enjoyable. It is a vast difference from what I am used to, yes, but it is also my first time staying in such a place, so I am finding them novel. I may miss a bathhouse at some point, but for now, Noburu and I find them lovely. Plus, it is agreeable to wake up and be able to be outside in a moment. Not a minute wasted scurrying through halls. The fields are right there, waiting for you, as if asking you to come to them."

Chi-Pu nods.

"I am glad you find them to your liking."

"I have never lived inside of a building before, so I do not know what it would be like. As far as the bathing goes, I have a bucket you may use if needed, it is how we all bathe."

Pondering for a moment, the woman places a finger on the corner of her mouth.

"Say, Matsu-san, where will your keep your Lion while you sleep? Do they do well being tied?"

Kogo looks slightly concerned but nods. "A bucket would likely do for a while. But at some point, you should try a full bathhouse. I am not one for luxury but after a long hard day, it is bliss to soak in one." Kogo looks surprised at the question.

"No, Warcats are not usually tied. They are trained from a very young age. I usually have Noburu stay with me, especially in a situation such as this, where outdoors and indoors are so close. When I am home, sometimes she will sleep with the other Warcats, but often she stays in my room or nearby. Why do you ask?"

[Moto Khulun]

He smiles and fills the cup offered from the pitcher in front of him.

"Back in the time of our forefathers, before Shinjo rode out of the Empire there lived a woman, who was known to be a great warrior of one of the local tribes. She and her tribe fought against the Kami and lost and she realized the strength of the great general who she fought, a man named Akodo-One-Eye, Shinjo's brother. She swore fealty to him, and eventually martied him, and she served as his hand for many years, the sword in his fist. Her name was Lady Matsu, and she was the greatest warrior the lion have ever known.

On the day the little teacher came to collect the champions of each clan, the souls of thunder, the greatest young warriors of the Lion stood ready to be choosen by him, they were waiting with thier daimyo and his wife. Akodo stepped away to walk with the teacher and speak with his siblings as the teacher made choices from other clans, when they reached the spot where the elderly Lady Matsu, well over seventy years of age, and his 20 best warriors were waiting he found his wife dusting off her knuckles and a score of unconcious bodies at her feet. She told the little teacher he was welcome to choose any Lion he wished from those standing before him. And that is how Lady Matsu came to ride off with Otaku"

“Good story, maybe if you impress me you can tell me more bed time stories?” she says with a growl.

“You drink kumis, good.”

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

Kogo looks slightly concerned but nods. "A bucket would likely do for a while. But at some point, you should try a full bathhouse. I am not one for luxury but after a long hard day, it is bliss to soak in one." Kogo looks surprised at the question.

"No, Warcats are not usually tied. They are trained from a very young age. I usually have Noburu stay with me, especially in a situation such as this, where outdoors and indoors are so close. When I am home, sometimes she will sleep with the other Warcats, but often she stays in my room or nearby. Why do you ask?"

"I will have to try a bathhouse sometime, as you say. It has always been rivers, or buckets."

Chi-Pu ponders some more.

"I was just wondering, with the Yurts being sized to only fit two people, having your Warcat inside might be cramped unless they sleep directly with you. And I couldn't imagine such a proud animal being tied. Finally, I did not think our stable masters would want a lion in the pens with the other animals."

She smiles and then quickly adds

"Not that anything would happen, just that our food stock animals might become too stressed out if a hunter slept with them"

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo looks slightly concerned but nods. "A bucket would likely do for a while. But at some point, you should try a full bathhouse. I am not one for luxury but after a long hard day, it is bliss to soak in one." Kogo looks surprised at the question.

"No, Warcats are not usually tied. They are trained from a very young age. I usually have Noburu stay with me, especially in a situation such as this, where outdoors and indoors are so close. When I am home, sometimes she will sleep with the other Warcats, but often she stays in my room or nearby. Why do you ask?"

"I will have to try a bathhouse sometime, as you say. It has always been rivers, or buckets."

Chi-Pu ponders some more.

"I was just wondering, with the Yurts being sized to only fit two people, having your Warcat inside might be cramped unless they sleep directly with you. And I couldn't imagine such a proud animal being tied. Finally, I did not think our stable masters would want a lion in the pens with the other animals."

She smiles and then quickly adds

"Not that anything would happen, just that our food stock animals might become too stressed out if a hunter slept with them"

"Ohh absolutely. I have been very cautious about not spooking the other animals. Try as you might, you cannot convince an animal that a lion will not harm it. And Noburu does not tell, mischief maker that she is. It likely may be a bit cramped in there, but thankfully, I do not have too many belongings and I will not have to worry for heat. The only difficulty is Noburu's snoring." Kogo grimaces mildly.

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

"Ohh absolutely. I have been very cautious about not spooking the other animals. Try as you might, you cannot convince an animal that a lion will not harm it. And Noburu does not tell, mischief maker that she is. It likely may be a bit cramped in there, but thankfully, I do not have too many belongings and I will not have to worry for heat. The only difficulty is Noburu's snoring." Kogo grimaces mildly.

"Your lion...snores?"

Chi-Pu smiles brightly and laughs jovially.

"That I must hear, Matsu-san!"

[Shimizu Ryori]

He smiles and fills the cup offered from the pitcher in front of him.

"Back in the time of our forefathers, before Shinjo rode out of the Empire there lived a woman, who was known to be a great warrior of one of the local tribes. She and her tribe fought against the Kami and lost and she realized the strength of the great general who she fought, a man named Akodo-One-Eye, Shinjo's brother. She swore fealty to him, and eventually martied him, and she served as his hand for many years, the sword in his fist. Her name was Lady Matsu, and she was the greatest warrior the lion have ever known.

On the day the little teacher came to collect the champions of each clan, the souls of thunder, the greatest young warriors of the Lion stood ready to be choosen by him, they were waiting with thier daimyo and his wife. Akodo stepped away to walk with the teacher and speak with his siblings as the teacher made choices from other clans, when they reached the spot where the elderly Lady Matsu, well over seventy years of age, and his 20 best warriors were waiting he found his wife dusting off her knuckles and a score of unconcious bodies at her feet. She told the little teacher he was welcome to choose any Lion he wished from those standing before him. And that is how Lady Matsu came to ride off with Otaku"

“Good story, maybe if you impress me you can tell me more bed time stories?” she says with a growl.

“You drink kumis, good.”

"Um well... Yes... The kumis is quite good" he downs the cup quickly and pours himself another

[Shinjo Hanashi]

...

"No, I meant the big firey bird like thing. My clan traveled alongside Ki-Rin for a time in our past; long before we came to the decision to call ourselves the Unicorn due to changes." Finishing the kebab he chews a bit. "Ah! The desert. Sand and rock and sand and rock. And life, of sorts, from time to time there's life. But nothing like..." he waves towards the exterior of the building, "The sea of grass that is outside us. There's so much vital life here. I bet there's countless poetry dedicated to it."

He pauses. "In our tales there's a city out there, where a river cuts through the sands. They've got buildings full of such things. As there's beauty to be had in the desert. The fiery reds and purples and oranges and blues of a sunrise over the sands on the right morning...makes it seem like Lady Sun walks the sands themselves. And of course, the sands are much preferred to the darklands we rode through for much of the last five years." He can't keep from a shudder at that, one hand reflexively adjusting his eyepatch.

To cover, "But! This is a celebration, eat! Drink! Be merry!" He spears the sea bug shrimp thing and pops it in his mouth.

[Moto Khulun]

"Um well... Yes... The kumis is quite good" he downs the cup quickly and pours himself another

She laughs and goes back to eating and adds between bites of venison and rice, “Kumis will put hair on your lips and oak in your staff!”

She pounds the table with her free hand and gives a nice good ululation of joy, “This is good chirmpu… shim… shripu? Sea bugs!”

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

There were millions of curses spurring in Yue's mind.

"Very well," she said, tentatively. The Unicorn woman took the bowl and stared at its contents. "Itadakimasu," she stated, unsure if she needed to repeat it again. She took the smallest portion she could and then smiled. "It is good, Kumahime-dono."

The large Fox beams, "See? I told you. Eat up, eat u-" suddenly, her eyes snap, and she grabs two of a passing dish.

"Oh~ Have you ever tried scallops? They're one of my favorites!" She sets one of the dishes in front of the Unicorn, and the other in front of herself, not taking no for an answer.

Yue looked down at the scallops and considered using the same "gift receiving" tactic again. However, something told her that such trickery would not work on such a robust woman. A different tactic came to mind, though. "I thought I would be the tallest woman here, Kumahime-dono," she remarked, hoping that would serve as a distraction from the food in front of her.

[Matsu Kogo]

"Ohh absolutely. I have been very cautious about not spooking the other animals. Try as you might, you cannot convince an animal that a lion will not harm it. And Noburu does not tell, mischief maker that she is. It likely may be a bit cramped in there, but thankfully, I do not have too many belongings and I will not have to worry for heat. The only difficulty is Noburu's snoring." Kogo grimaces mildly.

"Your lion...snores?"

Chi-Pu smiles brightly and laughs jovially.

"That I must hear, Matsu-san!"

Kogo snickers. "Oh lord, just come by in the early afternoon if I'm around my yurt. She will be in there snoring like a hive of bees. Its awful. Sometimes, I kick her out of the room cause I can't sleep. But now, I'll just have to deal with it, since the yurt? Yurt won't protect me from that sound. Might as well have warmth."

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

Kogo snickers. "Oh lord, just come by in the early afternoon if I'm around my yurt. She will be in there snoring like a hive of bees. Its awful. Sometimes, I kick her out of the room cause I can't sleep. But now, I'll just have to deal with it, since the yurt? Yurt won't protect me from that sound. Might as well have warmth."

Chi-Pu continues to chuckle

"I bet that is quite the sight to see Matsu-san. I have shared a bed with my steed out in the fields once or twice. It is conforting to have another soul next to you to sleep. The warmth and presence of a familiar friend is...comforting."

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo snickers. "Oh lord, just come by in the early afternoon if I'm around my yurt. She will be in there snoring like a hive of bees. Its awful. Sometimes, I kick her out of the room cause I can't sleep. But now, I'll just have to deal with it, since the yurt? Yurt won't protect me from that sound. Might as well have warmth."

Chi-Pu continues to chuckle

"I bet that is quite the sight to see Matsu-san. I have shared a bed with my steed out in the fields once or twice. It is conforting to have another soul next to you to sleep. The warmth and presence of a familiar friend is...comforting."

Kogo looks at Otaku-san with a warm gaze. "It is, very much so. A friend who has been with you through many days and many strange places. I fear too many discount the bonds that can appear between samurai and the other creatures of this world."