The New Winds

(scene is happening within the shoji screen marking off the Unicorn space in the barracks. Now open if others hear the noise and wish to drop in.)

At the end of the day, fed and bathed, minds and bodies exercised, and excitingly far from home, the shoji-enclosed encampment of the Unicorn students has taken on the familiar feel of bedrolls circled around a fire within comforting yurt walls. The fire was a lantern. The shoji screens were draftier by far than felt. But when the Unicorn came together anywhere, they shared the tales of what they had seen and where they had been.

"And then I'm racing through puddles of bathwater just to get a pail to finish the morning's work! Not at all what I thought I'd be doing here." Nesrin pulls out a tin stamped with simple designs and offers around the sweet/sour dried curds inside*.

"Now this isn't a real yurt, so this can't be proper hospitality. But shared stories and sweets are close enough, yeah?"



*Aaruul

While the Iuchi boy might pass as slightly more 'typically Rokugani' than his clansmates during the day, at the end-of-the-day storytelling in their shared not-really-a-yurt Prashant was clearly a Unicorn.

A look at the dried curds Nesrin offered was enough to take his mind to his home, his mother and sisters. He was usually quite Spartan with his diet, but he couldn't resist this.

"Ah! Thanks, Nesrin-san! This feels like home", he says with an ample smile accepting the aaruul. "I wish we could have some lassi! I'll sorely miss it!"

"But it sure is good to have at least a feeling of home with you, Utaku-sans, Moto-san" he says, smiling.

He then addresses what the girl was saying. "Yeah... That was quite a bit of work! But I suppose it's what must be done to keep a dojo with so many people cramped up together in a city, ne? I guess we could take that as a chance to learn. At least to learn that living cramped up together in a city is not a great idea!", he says, grinning before he takes the aaruul to his mouth and starts sucking on it.

Ichiro lounged around the lantern propped up on one elbow his lizard sitting on his shoulder. He nodded thanks to Nesrin as he took one of the treats and broke off a little part feeding it up to Zurui. He chuckled at the future battle maiden's story "Yeah they sure are a peculiar folk here" he threw his head back a little "ugh I miss home already, not even home but at least not here with their close buildings windy roads and oh don't get me started on the pathetic things they call horses here." he finished with a scoff.

"But all is not lost, at least I have you lot to keep me sane while we're here."

"Better here than the Capital at least. So many buildings all the same. So many people all the same. It's not so bad when it's one small place like this at least."

Ichiro placed a bottle of sake towards the center.

"Drink light, I doubt it will be easy to get more while we're here."

Utaku Ichiro wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 3:11 pm

"Better here than the Capital at least. So many buildings all the same. So many people all the same. It's not so bad when it's one small place like this at least."

"Well, it's calmer here, indeed. If you look for it hard enough, you can even find the sounds of nature around", he says, remembering his meditation with the Kitsuki sensei. "But I guess there is at least some beauty to be found everywhere. Have you seen the goldey bay at the Capital?"

Utaku Ichiro wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 3:11 pm

Ichiro placed a bottle of sake towards the center.

"Drink light, I doubt it will be easy to get more while we're here."

"Oh, wow, Utaku Ichiro-san!", he smiles. "I guess I'll pass... at least for now! All the better for you folks!"

"There's birds at least, and more like your little one," she nods toward Moto Ichiro's lizard friend. "But I miss Tabudai and racing across some space without wooden floors or walls in the way."

Reaching for the other Ichiro's offered bottle, she lifts it to sniff, "is that...?" With a grin, she lifts it for proper taste of home before passing it along and wiping her lips with a sleeve.

Looking to Prashant, she shakes her head slightly, "The Goldey Bay? No, I arrived just barely in time to join the caravan out to here. No time to look around. And I'd really wanted to go look at the haunted walls." She sighed with remembered disappointment while grabbing a bit of the dried curd. "Did you see those? The inner walls guarding the sacred part of the city are super old and supposed to have weird things going on with them."

(ooc, off to work for the day, so feel free to chat past Nesrin for a while)

He suckles on the Aaruul again, then takes a small bite.

"Oh, I haven't seen them! I have barely walked through the inner city, really... Maybe we'll have another chance some day."

"But for now...maybe we can have a chance to run in a place without wooden floors during this time here?...". His smile is friendly and calm again, but this time it has a slight bit of mischievousness too.

Ichiro scratched Zurui's head as he gave the lizard another small piece of treat "I stumbled across the golden bay had a good time feeling a bit sorry for my self for being sent here and missing Khanbulak. But I do suppose it was a nice view for my wallowing." He said with a chuckle.

Iuchi Prashant wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 4:03 am

"But for now...maybe we can have a chance to run in a place without wooden floors during this time here?...". His smile is friendly and calm again, but this time it has a slight bit of mischievousness too.

Ichiro cocked an eyebrow "what do you mean Luchi-san" he asked while taking a swig from the sake.

Prash goes into a not too loud, but clearly sincere laugh at the Moto's comment. "Well, a good view can quiet down bad thoughts a bit, ne?"

He takes another small bite of the treat.

"Well... I may mean two things. I do have at least some hope that we'll have at least one class involving riding. It is something I think might be expected from other samurai, not only our kin" - he grins before continuing - "even if most fall waaaay short of what we're used to".

He stops for a moment, stretching, then smiles again.

"And... I may also mean that ... There may be a chance to run, maybe even ride, on our own? We have at least some time free to 'do as we please', ne? So... scouting the area might be fitting for our training, maybe?"

Ichiro takes a small swig of the sake and nods, "There better be riding taught. What kind of samurai isn't shown how to ride a horse? I mean sure not all of them learn it but that's a failing on their part. A dojo that doesn't teach it though... is that even a dojo?"

The Moto Ichiro chuckled "Youd be surprised, these Rokugani don't respect riding as much as we do." He knew he was technically a Rokugani as well but him being unicorn especially a Moto he often felt the similarities ended at the name.

"Im sure there are plenty of dojos that don't teach their students how to ride. But I mean have you seen what they call horses? Basically ponies." He said with a laugh "nothing like a good war steed."

"I mean the way of the warrior is the way of horse and bow - even the other clans teach that. It is lax of them to not at least understand the basics even if they will never serve as cavalry themselves."

Prash nods in agreement, taking another small bite of the curdled treat

((Every character who has taken more drinks than their Stamina, please roll a raw Stamina, TN5. Failure means you are drunk))

Between Utaku constitution and perhaps a somewhat overly liberal Moto sensei Ichiro's small swigs did little more than lighten his mood.

(Pass with Exceptional Success)

(21 Nesrin's juuust fine)

With another sip of the alcohol warming more than her nostalgic heart as the cool of a spring night infiltrated the uninsulated barracks, Nesrin shakes her head. "Ichiro's right...*that* Ichiro, I mean" she points to the Moto. "The other clans aren't as worried about riding or there's no reason not to let us bring our horses. There's no sense training on ponies. I almost hope they aren't planning to try. I mean, they're cute and lovable little beasts, but I'd feel like I was trying to drag my baby cousin through a blade dance trying to do anything with them. Dangerous, awkward, and no fun for anyone."

"But scouting," she grins at Prashant, "I mean...we're honing our skills if say, we use our free time to scale the building and run races on the roof, right? That's not even leaving the compound."

Ichiro snorted "If we're going to break the rules and do something dangerous we could get in trouble for we might as well head to the city and explore something new rather than break our necks falling from the roofs." he said grinning to Nesrin.

"Clearly you two need to compromise by sneaking out to visit the city by way of the roof." He grins, "The only option."

"ohhhh... That would be amazing!" Nesrin leans over toward the Moto, extending a hand with bent pinky extended. "I pinky swear I'll climb down and drag you back for an honorable funeral if you fall off the roof and break your neck."

"We'll need to scout and plan tomorrow. Figure out the guards' spots and a good path up the building. Do we need a rope?" She settles into a moment of thought. "I'll find a rope. Can't hurt, might help."

(ooc, work again.)

Ichiro extends out and wraps his pinky with Nesrins he is less boisterous than normal and a sharp eye might catch a hint of pink on his cheeks but surely that was just the drink warming his face "uh, yeah you better." He says in a halting fashion.

The boy shakes his head a bit "I actually brought some rope with me, figured it could come in handy."