(D1 LE) Much-Needed Space

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Shinjo Liu Yue came here after the dinner. She was starting to feel somewhat better; the food had caused a less resounding sickness than she thought. Still, she needed some distance from all of the noise and bright lights so that she could completely recover. The Unicorn still kept her fan up and over her lips, shielding any ungracious urges to vacate the contents of her stomach that managed to get through her On.

For the time being, she was happy to take a place on the stands. "I wonder if there'll be an event at these rings that I'm good at. Never was the quick draw type," she remarked softly to herself in Mekhem.

[Soshi Bantu]

From her seat in the stands, Liu Yue would have little difficulty hearing the approach of another samurai. Having shed his formal kimono from the dinner, Soshi Bantu was dressed in a much plainer outfit for a little late night martial practice.

He took up a position near the edge of the white sand and started to practice his draw. It wasn't smooth and was a little slow, but everyone started somewhere.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

The Unicorn was still in her dinner kimono; she had come here for space, after all. She watched his technique with interest but did not speak up to him. She did tap her feet against the stands, however, as a subtle way to allow him to know of her presence.

[Soshi Bantu]

Unfortunately for Bantu (but fortunately for the future of the thread) the Scorpion's skills weren't great enough to block out the rhythmic taping from the stands and he sheathed his blade, turning to see whom the Fortunes had chosen to cross his paths with this evening.

He didn't recognize the mon, which meant it was likely one of their hosts. Not Ide school, or Iuchi family, not Moto...how many more can there be?

Heading over, Bantu stopped at the bottom of the stands and offered a bow to the spectator. "Soshi Bantu." He introduces himself with little fanfare. "Who have I the pleasure of speaking with this evening?"

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Watakushi wa Shinjo Liu Yue desu," she announced. Her Rokugani was slow and deliberate, cautious to make sure she pronounced everything correctly. Even after speaking so much during the day she was still uneasy with the language. She made her way down to his level and then gave him a deep bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you." She still kept her fan over her face. Though her scars were still obvious, it at least allowed her to not worry as much if her lips grimaced. "Konbanwa, Bantu-dono."

[Soshi Bantu]

Bantu was taken aback slightly by the unusual combination of such an honorific suffix coupled with his personal name, but it catered wonderfully to his ego and he found he liked it too much to correct the vassal of the Shinjo.

"Busy day today?" He asked politely.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue's insistence on using that combination was an odd quirk indeed. She had simply become used to calling others by their personal names. However, she held everyone else, at least of the samurai caste, high enough to call to them with such a high honorific.

"Hai," she replied, oblivious to any reason he would ask such a question, "And yourself, Bantu-dono?"

[Soshi Bantu]

"Much the same Lu Yu-san. Between settling into my yurt," the word still feels weird on his tongue and his pronunciation of it is very tentative.

"Chancing upon a history lesson, and then preparing for and attending the dinner this evening as well as the official welcoming by Ide-dono, it has been rather packed."

"Hence my later than normal practice session." Between the low light and the strategically placed fan, Liu Yue's facial scars went mostly unnoticed.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Liu Yue," she repeated gently as means of instruction.

She retracted slightly, taking a moment to both recall her day and how to put it to words. "I met interesting people today," she started, the adjective not meant to be indicative of anything. She truly meant that she found them interesting. "The dinner was a spectacle, hai," she continued, this time meaning more behind her words. Between the shellfish and the bear woman it had been eventful.

[Soshi Bantu]

Bantu makes a few attempts trying to wrap his tongue around Liu Yue, until eventually he manages a passable pronunciation.

"Yes the dinner was interesting, some of your delicacies were quite pleasing to the palette. It seems both sides will have some adjusting to make to new tastes. Did you find any of the unusual dishes of the Empire especially pleasant?"

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

The woman nodded as he made his attempts, her smile never faltering.

"I found the lobster to be favorable, Bantu-dono. That is not to say the others were not, however. I tasted every course I could manage." She peered at Bantu for a brief moment, noting that he did not appear to have been suffering from any food sickness. She had heard rumors already that people were not handling the new food quite well. "And I ask the same of you, Bantu-dono: what was your favorite meal of the Unicorn?"

[Soshi Bantu]

"There were too many dishes for me to try them all I must confess, although I didn't find anything offensive to my tastes. The kumis was...surprising in its sharpness and took me a few attempts to come to terms with its unique flavour."

He shrugs slightly, being honest in his assessment. "I don't think it will replace tea or sake in my daily consumption, but it was an experience I am glad I got to try, and look forward to having again."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"There was certainly a lot of food," she replied, thinking back to Kumahime. "I am glad you enjoyed the kumis. It is a drink I enjoy," she continued, her Rokugani still progressing slowly.

She took a moment to recollect her speech. "You are a bushi. Is that correct? I saw you practicing with your katana." She wondered if this man would too overlook the fact that she possessed a daisho of her own. Her heavy weapons of choice, though, were lying back in her assigned yurt as there had been no reason to bring it to dinner.

[Soshi Bantu]

"Yes, I am indeed a warrior in my Clan's army, as are you I suspect." Bantu adds with a glance down to Liu Yue's own blades.

"Although my sensei hoped that he would be able to develop my skill at strategy enough to move me into a leadership role, that is still an aspiration rather than a realization. All my strategy lessons so far have been theoretical rather than practical. I assume you are a member of a cavalry division of some sort, although mounted infantry might also be a possibility I guess?"

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue nodded as confirmation. "You are to be a commander? That sounds promising, Bantu-dono. As for myself, I am a member of the Unicorn's heavy cavalry." She looked down at her daisho with a smile. "I do not use swords in combat, Bantu-dono. I wield the tetsubo or ono." What she meant was that she preferred them. Still, she was more efficient with heavy weapons than swords when it came to dealing damage.