[D4 EE] A Little Spicy

[Shiba Jiro]

Jiro was doing a really poor job of pretending he wasn't interested. Perhaps because he wasn't really pretending that. But rather simply not displaying it as openly as would be terribly scandalous.

"Okay," he says, and his stomach flutters a bit at that.

"Someplace quiet. Someplace private. You and I."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"I'd ask t'borrow Hirame-san's boat, but that's not 'zactly private."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Perhaps someplace were likely to go unnoticed? Like the forest?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"I reckon that sounds nice."

[Shiba Jiro]

He simply smiles at her in return before changing the subject. "Tell me about your home?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Y'mean the Yukikaze?"

She cocked her head to the side.

"It's been my home much as anywhere the last few years. Or didja mean the Isles?"

[Shiba Jiro]

"Whichever you wish to share about. It is your home," he says with a smile. "I would never dare to tell someone what their home should be. Particularly not someone with a free spirit like you."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Well. There's a little loop in th'ratlines near th' crow's nest that I put in, an'nobody seems t'mind. Lets me hang outta the way if I wanna be up there off-duty. An'my hammock on th'crew deck's right by a ventilation hatch a bird nested in last year. Used t'braid the shed feathers inta my hair."

[Shiba Jiro]

"That sounds fun," he says with a smile. "The Mantis really do lead interestingly different lives from the rest of the empire. Are nesting birds common on ships? As much as houses?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Nope, rare as hen's teeth! It kinda turned intoa joke, 'cause I kept makin' everybody be quiet so we wouldn't scare th'birds off. An' then I started savin' bits of my food t'give 'em..."

She sighed.

"They flew off, a'course, soon as they could. But I kept th'nest for a while."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Well, it's nice that you took care of them," he said with a warm smile. "So it seems your a hero to drowning phoenix and starving birds. You have a big heart Kasumi."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

That made her feel all tingly.

Which was delightful.

"Well. I try. How 'bout you, what's your home like?"

[Shiba Jiro]

"It's relatively small, in a little town on the Phoenix border. But not far away there is a large tower that is used to watch the border. But it's not like a normal tower I guess. I think they've got a bunch of diviners in there or something. It's called Zumiki-Mihari. Our house is relatively small, with a decent sized grass area surrounding it. Very small and mostly quiet town honestly. Not exciting, but very pleasant."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Huh."

She mulled that around in her head.

She had a few memories of life as a stonebound Mantis, when she was a little girl, but for so many years now, she'd lived at sea...

"Which border, th' Crane one, th'Dragon?"

[Shiba Jiro]

"The Imperial one," he clarified. "It's definitely rural living though. It used to make me feel comfortable, no it makes me long for something more exciting."

"Just like you."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Th' appeal of th'exotic's somethin' I quite understand..."

[Shiba Jiro]

He nods at that. "Just too bad I'm not likely to have much of a chance to see many different places. I'll have to rely on your letters and stories."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"I'll hafta do what I can. My calligraphy's nothin' to scream about, but I expect I'll get around somewhat."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Unfortunately, returned letters probably won't be quite as interesting or adventurous, but I can try to spice them up."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Somehow I doubt you'll have much trouble there."