The New Winds

After helping to clean the yard, Nesrin gathers up some wooden weaponry and stakes out a space for some practice, glad for the cooler spring weather today. Summer's humidity would have been a sticky mess to endure here.

Waiting for her practice partner, she spends a few minutes woolgathering, watching the fluffy clouds and the stories her sister might make out of their shapes.

Prash takes a while more cleaning than Nesrin does, but then finally comes to meet her.

"Kuśal, washamo-Utaku!", he says as he approaches, smiling. "That is, 'Hi, Utaku-san!' - or more exactly "Hi, friend-Utaku" - we generally use "Washamo", or "friend", to refer to others"

He seems excited to talk about his mother's language, but sits down besides the girl, looks up at the clouds and falls silent for a while. "Thinking about home, Washamo?", he asks, smiling as he looks at the sky.

She looks up with a grin as Prashant approaches, repeating the shape of the words without sound as he explains, then attempts it aloud with an accent for sure, but it isn't as foreign to a Rokugani tongue as some of the languages from the Sands. "Kuśal, washamo-Iuchi).

"Sort of. I was looking at that cloud," she points to a large, fluffy one, "I was thinking of what stories Chimeg might tell about it. She's my younger sister, youngest of all of us, actually. I think maybe she's touched with some kind of gift, because everything around her is full of stories. I think the cloud ones are mostly made up. But the ones about other things are sometimes true, if you look at them right and know the history of that horse or hill or whatever."

"Māka kartse, washamo-Utaku!", he says smiling as she attempts the greeting. That is, "very good!"

He then keeps looking at the cloud she mentioned as he hears her. "Wow... Your sister sounds like a remarkable young one", he says as he looks up and makes a frame with his hands to look at the clouds. "I love stories, too! My mom and dad used to tell me and my sisters legend and stories about our ancestors every night", he says, a nostalgic smile on his face. "My sisters preferred telling scary stories though", he chuckles.

He then turns to her for a moment. "What sort of śruti - 'story that is!' - do you think washamo-Utaku Chimeg would tell about that cloud? Or.. what story would washamo Nesrin-san tell about it?", he says with a friendly smile, still looking up.

"She's still so young that her idea of scary is not at all what most of us fear. But she does like those...śruti." She continues to try out the pronunciations as she receives them. "I think that one would be a lost lamb because of how white and fluffy it is, and that would be scary for her."

Looking back up, her smile grows a bit wistful, "Me? They all start to look like horses with free rein across the sky. So maybe a story about travelers riding way up there and telling stories of their ancestors, so they can keep remembering what they were like when they merely rode across the ground below."

"Why do this, though?" she mimics the framing that Prashant had done toward the clouds. "Is that a Tegensai tradition, or a shugenja one?" She could well imagine it was a supplication to the air kami.

He laughs gently at the potential story about the lost sheep, then falls silent while Nesrin tells her own version. When she mentions hand-framing, though, she might notice he blushes a bit.

"Oh, säs?" he says, smiling coyly as he mimics the gesture again. Ñuk... er, I sometimes do that to focus on only one image when I'm alone! I sometimes saw Katkaunya mokomyasher - er, big sis Katkaunya - do it, and I took to doing it. I guess you could say it's a Prashant tradition", he laughs, still a bit blushed.

"But... Washamo-Utaku, that's a beautiful śruti", he says, happy. "I suppose washamo Nesrin must miss your yakwe - 'horse' - and tsälpe yapoym - er.. 'the freedom of our lands'!"

"You had mentioned travel poems - what 'is' a Tegensai tradition are 'meditation poems', or dhyāmkāvisse, he says, his eyes reflecting a bright smile on his lips. "Would washamo-Nesrin like to hear one? Maybe while we start practicing?"

Nesrin nods as she hops to her feet and fetches the wooden weaponry. "I'd really like to hear a meditation poem, yes."

"It's good to have family traditions. We always get one book or scroll at New Year's because a great grandmother forgot her pillow book at a celebration at her betrothed's and he thought it was a sneaky way to pass him a gift. Is...Ñuk..'sometimes?'" she struggles with the odd n in there. "But yeah, I miss, um... yakwe and tsälpe yapoym, but I'm still excited about all the new things here too...so I guess it's complicated."

She spreads the weapons out, paired. "I wasn't sure what all you might want to practice and grabbed a few types. So you pick!"

He laughs at the story about her grandmother "It is good! And that's a lovely tradition!"

He smiles happily at her as he jumps to his feet as well and walks towards the practice weapons "It is complicated indeed! I miss the plains a lot, but the chance to see and learn new things..
meet different, people, some of them very nice... I love it too!"

He then stops himself for a moment. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't clear there!", he chuckles. "Ñuk is just "I"! A... More 'respectful', 'humbling' I in fact. A bit like "Watashi" in Rokugani I guess! Then there's "Näsh", which is... "rougher", or maybe "self-aggrandizing"... Something like "Ore" in Rokugani I think!" He then says "Ñuk" again slowly - "it is... A bit as if you said "Ni-yuk" I guess. But you're doing great, really!"

He then looks at the weapons again. "I have focused mostly on the sword to be honest, washamo-Utaku! Taking after my mother, since our training with weapons is a bit limited. But I guess it'd be good to try something else! Yas - that's formal "you"! - have a favourite or a suggestion?", he asks, smiling warmly.

"I.." she pauses, "Ñuk..? have trained with sword and bow, so they're the ones I can help with. I want to learn polearms, even if I'm not likely to use them much. The naginata is just so beautiful to watch, honestly. But if I tried teaching that, I'd be learning as I went. Sorry I don't have much range yet to broaden yours!" The apology is genuine but amused more than contrite.

"So if, hmm..yas wish to practice sword, we could maybe try something shorter like a wakizashi for a different kind of blade? They work mostly the same but you have different techniques since the reach is so different." She points to the shorter bokken on the ground. "What's sword in tegenasai? Do they have as many words for them as we do?"

He chuckles at her comment, smiling warmly "Oh, nothing to be sorry about washamo Nesrin! 'Yas' has helped me a fair bit with the bow the other day - Ñuk might even ask for some more of your help later".

He then nods at her suggestion about using a wakizashi-like boken. "That sounds like a good idea!" He then seems to think for a while. "Mom mostly uses Kertte for her Katana and Wakizashi - yäktekertte for her Wakizashi, actually... That would be 'short sword' I guess. But she uses apsāl for her straight sword and for the Rokugani Nodachi. I guess the difference is based on shape and size! She had a curved Tegensai blade, a bit like a scimitar, that she also called Kertte." He shrugs "I always thought of both as 'swords' and used them as mom does! Then there are knives - yepe and kshur - also one more curved than the other."

He then looks at the rack again. "Well... What do you say we train with Kertte, yäktekertte, and then the peñketāksa - Naginata, or 'staff-axe'"? He suggests, smiling. "We can learn something together then! Or, well, maybe hurt ourselves trying", he chuckles.

"Maybe start with a Iai stance, then Kenjutsu with the Kertte, first to two hits win? Then two hits with the yäktekertte, and two with the peñketāksa?"

The large Moto boy finished a bit of cleaning figuring he would stay late to make up for the previous days he had blown it off.

He saw his clan mates talking around a circled off area "Hey guys, how's your day going so far?" he asked with a smile on his face as walked toward them, he tripped a little as he walked toward them but quickly caught his balance "ugh, I hate these kimonos, I can't wait until lessons are done for the day so I can change back into my normal clothes." he said with a tone of good humored exasperation.

Prash waves when he sees the Moto approaching. "Hi Moto-san! How did the day treat you so far? Care to join us in some weapon and language practice?"

Nesrin waved as he approached. "Hai. I miss plain clothes. Though I like how light these are for when it gets warm."

"We're getting ready to practice a bit, and Iuchi-san...ah washamo-Iuchi," she grins, "has been teaching me bits of Tegensai. We were going to go through a few weapons drills, first to two hits wins, with, let's see... kertte, yäktekertte, and...umm, staff-axe? I forgot that one." She points to each of the practice weapons as she repeats their names. "I don't really know how to use that one, the naginata staff-axe, but I've wanted to learn."


(hmm, you know, I never asked what student outfits were. I've been picturing the hakama and gi combo I see people practicing kendo with on campus. *revising*)

"Sounds like you're practically conversational Nesrin-san." he said with a grin at her display of knowledge "but I'm always down for some learning and it seems like you both plan on packing as much learning into this time as you can!" he chuckles as he draws close and puts his hands behind his head stretching, you all can go first since I was the late one.

(I honestly have no idea I just made my own assumptions XD)

"How should we do it then, washamo-Moto?", he asks, already introducing him to some Tegensai, going over some of the words exchanged before and translating as they came along.

"Maybe for each weapon, start with a pair - washamo-Nesrin and Ñuk for the Kertte -, then the winner faces the one sitting out... and then for the next weapon the winner of that kāñmweta - that is, match - faces the one who was then waiting? How's that sound?"

(ooc, I'm heading to work, so in order to better work around me...)

"Hmm, well we kinda got started with the language lessons before washamo-Moto got here, so maybe you two start off and that way the language lessons can catch up while we get the weapons started?"

"That sounds good too", he says, smiling, then looks at the Moto. He then quickly reviews the names of the swords and some of the other words with the Moto.

"Entwe... aunaskentär? - So, shall we start?", He says, grinning as he takes a normal boken and falls into a Iai stance to start. "May I suggest we change it to She tsälpe - one hit? We can rotate more quickly that way", he says, smiling.

OOC

(Also took a hit in earlier training and I wouldn't like to create a time paradox lol)

"oof can't say I've ever really studied the dueling arts but I'll try to be a good opponent." he says grabbing the bokken and settling into an Iai stance opposite the smaller unicorn.

"I have received some training sälkamok - 'the art of drawing' -, but not much as well, washamo-Moto. My first attempt today didn't work too well either!", he says, laughing a bit.

He then positions himself in an Iai stance opposite the larger boy and tries to focus. Once again, hard as he tries, he cannot perceive much about his opponent.

OOC
(EDIT - I'm ok with just roleplaying it as well if you are, but as I've rolled for the Assessment already, I'm keeping the roll here)

Day 5 Horse - Assessment against Moto Ichiro - Iai/ Awa TN 15; Rolling 3k2: 3d10o10k2 12

Nesrin settles in to watch the pair. Since she actually has a small bit of training, she offers advice where it doesn't seem like it will distract. "The part that's like meditating and feeling the moment to strike comes a lot easier once you're actually comfortable with knowing how your stance and draw work. My sensei made us practice just that...a lot..." Draw, strike, reset, repeat, over and over and... she snaps back to paying attention instead of replaying a hundred strikes in her head.