The New Winds

Wood over grass.
Bare feet over tatami.
Running steps.
Aiichirō got a little better at finding Ginkarasu — and he was cleaning the same spot he was sent to yesterday. Helping would make it faster!
The Kaiu silently took a cleaning towel from the bucket and started to rub the floor, without looking up or even saying hi.
It was like trying Aiichirō tried to make his presence the one of a ghost but failed miserably to do so because he always had pretty loud gestures — the force in the steps, the water falling violently from the cloth to the bucket instead, the friction sound of the kimono over the tatami.

"Hi Aiichiro-san!" He bows a bit but does keep working. He wanted to do a good job after he'd done well and not slack off!

"Hey." He says briefly, nodding his head and continues to work. "I don't know what it is for, but the cloak the tengu gave us was pretty handy against the storm cold."

"I was going to wear it tonight at my stand. The Miya here is really fun! We danced in the rain yesterday. Osano-Wo might've blessed me, I was able to figure out all the Akodo's questions about battle."

He hums a bit. "You jumped up in ranking yesterday too! Way up there!"

"Shhh, lucky streak. I'm going to go down again really soon. Thanks that the Hida are not here. They probably would get frustrated at the emphasis on dodging. It is more of a enduring fighting style, you see. About the questions..." He sighed and let the cloth drop.
"I was awful."

He shakes his head sad for his friend, "How many did you miss?"

"None. But Akodo-sensei told me that I failed on evaluating myself."

Ginkarasu nods slightly and then takes the broom to fight some ornery cobweb in the corner. "Do you meditate much? We talked about praying the other day, but what about meditating?"

"As if it would have changed anything." He says bitterly. "I don't even think this is because I'm only praying on the ritual praying. And maybe it makes sense."

"It helps me stay balanced. When someone makes me angry, or tries to scare me. Or tempt me to do the wrong thing. I think of the ocean. Waves moving back and forth." He offers his friend a smile. "Doesn't matter how big a rock you throw in. The waves keep moving. It helps."

"I should try it. Seeking a monk later." He says, resuming the cleaning, then stopping. "Just thought of a thing. Why did the Unicorn return through the Shadowlands? Wouldn't it be much easier to go through the desert? It can't be worse."

"I've no idea!" He looks around a moment. "Maybe..."

He frowns. "Maybe they weren't in the desert before they started coming back here?"

"On the other side of the Shadowlands there is a tainted forest, which borders a gaijin kingdom that protect their regions from it. I don't know how they work exactly, but I believe it is like the tainted part of Shinomen Mori. So should be easier to protect yourself from it than the Shadowlands per se. Perhaps they thought that the entire Shadowlands would be like this groove. That would be an awful mistake if so."

Day 5 Monkey Cleaning Cooperation - Lore: Ghostlands / TN 15: 3d10 18

He shudders. "I heard a Hiruma say once that the trees were the most dangerous thing in the Shadowlands. A whole forest of them!" He shakes his head, "No thank you."

He laughed a little. "The trees in the Shadowlands are upside down. They use their leaves as sensors and their branches to grapple people, and then they will strangle their target and break their bones like a big snake. Also if you cut them, they leak lava."

Day 5 Monkey Cleaning Cooperation - Lore: Shadowlands / TN 6 (One raise): 4d10o10k3 23

He looks at Aiichiro, shocked and a little pale. "No! Lava?! I didn't know that!"

"Yes. They only grow in volcanic areas. There are volcanos on the Shadowlands too."

"Course there is. It wasn't dangerous enough!" He sweeps up some more, trying not to stab the floor with the broom.

He can't help but laugh with his indignation. "There is always something worse to discover."

"Always more bugs under the log." He grumps. "Volcanoes make me nervous. Throwing big rocks everywhere. Don't want to think about tainted ones."