The New Winds

(OOC: I have no idea where I come up with these ideas for thread names sometimes.)

Saburo made his way after the afternoon's cleanup and the centering lessons to a room that was designated for studies. he had a letter in hand, along with a sheaf of more papers, and he looked almost passably normal. The eyes were still that strange color, but his skin had a bit of a proper hue to it and he was starting to carry himself normally. Setting himself down with the papers in place, he looked them over and waited for his study partner to arrive.

Because if the Kuni couldn't figure out what these things meant, he needed all the help he could get, and Sasaiko was at least not unpleasant company to study with.

She is not long in arriving after attending to other duties.

And she bows, smiling, when she sees him.

"Asako-san, a pleasure again! And you seem to continue to benefit from the congenial climate!"

He bowed right back. "Mother was not a fan of my getting out for exercises. Most of my time at the house dojo was indoors. I think, perhaps, my body has strengthened enough that the fresh air is good for me." Not that this was a criticism of an overprotective mother, but ... well, he definitely needed a bit more sun in his life. That was getting to be rather apparent.

"It's ... good to be out of the storeroom. I'll admit that I'm having a little difficulty re-orienting myself to my surroundings after that long in the dark, though I think... actually I still don't know what all went on in there entirely." He'd felt something, or had it been nothing? Was nothing something? Could something be nothi... stop thinking about it. "You did well on the archery range today."

She bows. "Thank you. I went through a quiver of arrows yesterday to prepare for it; the practice seems to have helped."

She settles. "Now, what was this about letters?"

"The results were definitely visible. You have a keen eye for it. Never hurts for us to at least be familiar with the bow. We cannot always rely upon the kami's help," he said as he drew the letter that had been sent to him, presumably from Hida Goroharu and offered it to her.

"So there is a strange game that they play in the court. They write letters to each other and have servants deliver them publicly on platters, where anyone who happens by could read. I have some sense of it, but it makes very little real sense. this was what was returned to me when I sent a message yesterday to Hida Goroharu-sensei."

"Games played in court seem strange to those outside the courts, but they are how the courtiers do their jobs without giving too much away. And I am told that no few romances are conducted in such ways, as well."

She doesn't look straight at him as she says the second sentence, but looks at the letter.

"It's an odd one. 'Entropy' and 'end of all we know' sound...final."

She considers, plumbing what she recalls of earlier teachings...

(OOC: Would Lore: Spirits or Lore: Theology apply here?)

"I assure you that I was not attempting to get Hida Goroharu's attention romantically," he assured her with the straightest of faces imaginable. "I and Kuni-san sent a poem each to congratulate him on the garden's discussion where it was decided to have it be a hardy one with the succulent plants. So... it is about gardens in some fashion perhaps?"

...

"People conduct romances with letters passed around courts so everyone can see? That hardly sounds circumspect. Mother always told me that romanc was not something to be done where others could watch, if it was done at all."

(Neither would apply, this is more of a wordplay, so I'd say Lore: Rokugani Language)

Sasaiko chuckles a bit.

"I would not think him your type, no, Asako-san. But it's not only romances that are conducted thusly, I'm told. Nor is it always so obvious who sends what to whom."

She racks her brain for information, but likely comes up short (11 on the suggested roll).

"It's part of the puzzle, you see."

"I don't know if I even have a type? I've never actually thought about such things, believe it or not. Haven't really had the opportunity..."

Vutall wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 11, 2020 5:43 am

*snip*

He nodded and tried to add his own thoughts into the process. Ok, so this was a puzzle. He could do puzzles, even if wordplay wasn't something he'd ever done in his past. "That, I suppose, makes a certain amount of sense. The Hida, assuming it is the Hida who wrote this, which I can't assume as I've never seen his calligraphy before. He may be testing through this to give another lesson?" Because everything here was a lesson, right?

Sasaiko nods.

"That's something to consider. We're not sure the identity of the writer. And we could go further and posit that a scribe had been hired to confuse things further."

She sighs.

"Layers and layers and layers. But Asako-san surely knows more of the pen than I; what does the writing suggest to you, even before the words?"

You both can get the sense that it is written in a way that could be interpreted as overall positive.

"I... think this is meant to be a complement on some level," he said, nodding as he finally tapped the letter with his finger and looked up at the Toritaka. "It's a little bit hard to fully understand the meaning, since it's rather subtle. This game is still very new to me. But... I guess this is the sort of thing that courtiers do in their spare time, so of course it would be much more subtle wouldn't it?"

"Most likely. As with all things, more practice is of benefit, and knowing what can be done helps in doing it."

She nods.

"I could see it being a bit of 'I'll remember you after the end of things.' It's backhandedly nice, I think."

"A backhanded complement... actually sounds like the sort of thing that a crab would say, doesn't it?" he said reaching up to tap his lips for a moment. "Courtly matters aren't their specialty even a sumai who performs before the courts at times I'm sure. So... it might be their way." He considered that and smirked to himself.

"I just got a crab's complement. Amusing."

"It's nothing to sneer at, truly. They don't tend to be welcoming of outsiders--'You don't know what we do,'" she mugs, affecting a deeper, huskier voice.

Then she laughs.

He laughed right back. "The Isawa are no better, Toritaka. I would love to pretend it was not so, but we affect the mastery of the mystical arts as a cloak. Earned, perhaps, just as the Crab's scars against the south are earned, but we are so firm in saying we are the masters of all magic." A shake of his head. "I have seen several of you at work. Raw power is not always the solution, though it has its place." And that was what he was beginning to understand the Isawa had. Raw, unbridled magical power, but sometimes with the finesse of a bull.

"True in all things. A simple step to the side does wonders against the largest opponents.

"I think I am more nimble on my feet for having been here, though."

"My own breathing has improved considerably since coming to this series of sessions. I believe that the desired effect has been achieved. I will have to send word to my mother that the experience has been good for me." He might, or might not, omit the topic of goblin hordes. his dear mother would faint for fright.

"I am sure she will be pleased. But I had not thought the northern airs were uncongenial."