Nanako couldn't even look at the topaz armor. It was so golden, so bright, so hopeful. Of course it couldn't be hers. She cast the paper with her old name, her old life, into the brazier. The wind blew, the flames rose, licking at the Doji girl's outstretched hand. But she didn't flinch. Her childho...

Nanako didn't know much about weapons repair. The last time she was asked to assist in such an honorable endeavor, her unfortunate nature almost started a fire in the smithy. Her lack of experience in this regard showed in the rather lackluster work on the blade but, soldiering forth, she acquitted ...

Nanako was cursed. Her failure in an event involving the favor of the gods was, of course, pre-ordained. It was inevitable. ----- S1: TN2 Theology (Void) LM8 - Step 1: Theology (Void) with Anxiety (Superstition: Void) and Seize the Moment | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 0 https://sak...

Nanako didn't resent her ancestors: that would, of course, be blasphemous and unfilial. But she did suspect that may have had a hand in the misfortune that plagued her life. She knew her lineage, of course. The Crane were just as fastidious about that as the Lion were. Well, maybe not as much as the...

"A free-?" Her questioning tone hopefully prompted expansion on that point from the Crab. After all, what a curious thing to ride with. Weren't all the horses and riding tack provided for by her Clan? Could someone unscrupulous be charging the guests of the Crane unduly?

Clearly the true Topaz Champion is the one of us who is least crippled at the end.

You can't spell "winner by default" without winner.

My name is Doji Nanako. I hope we have a pleasant conversation today, though I will not really say what it is I mean to say in my soul. I hope you forgive me - this is because I'm not really an exemplar of my family. I'm sure I have a curse. I'm the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. Most of my...

"Training and learning, yes. That's one of the reasons Tsuma exists." Nanako pointed out quietly, almost as if reading from a tourist's guidebook to the village.

Nanako was content to soak a moment before starting to scrub at her skin. "What kinds of training and learning, Kuni-san?"

"Oh, ah, hello. To you as well. Kuni-san." Nanako returned the Crab's bow in as much as modesty would allow, as she had been soaking low in the water to keep what ought to be hidden, hidden.

"The bath is nice this evening, eh?"

"I travel mostly around your clan lands and enjoy it quite nicely. The Jukami Mura is quite lovely and my last stop in Crane Lands... I may or may not take a boat from here to there. Mostly because I like the scenic route rather than the quicker one." "Oh, I...uh, well, I don't know too much about ...

Nanako looked between the Crab and the Lion. Hesitating, she chose the path of least resistance, the one where she just entered the water and kind of stayed distant from the two of them.

"Hello, Ikoma-san. I am," A pause. "Doji Nanako. A student at this academy."

"I am Shiba Kuroneko, and my friend Kiba and Tori." He pointed respectively. That is nice, that animals hang around you all the time... It is an honor to meet you and your companion." "An...honor?" Nanako had to think about that sentiment for a moment. It had been a while since she recalled anyone ...

"Oh? No, no bother at all." Nanako murmured. "Animals hang out around me all the time, so I'm glad to see this one isn't by themselves."

"Nice to meet you, Phoenix-san. I don't think we've met before. I'm Doji Nanako. This is Nyaneko."

"Eh?!" Nanako exclaimed, surprised at another person being in the bath. "Oh! Good evening, uh..." Damn, a disadvantage of identifying people already in the bath. No mons, no color-coded attire to aid in identification. "Samurai-san." Nanako let the silence settle over the scene. "Did...did you forge...

Another feline came close to the Doji looking up at her begging for food. Kiba mew. Nyaneko deigned to give this new cat an appraising look. A twitch of the ears, a disdainful twitch of the whiskers. Nyaneko was secure in their position upon Nanako's lap. "Oh, hello there, you." Nanako greeted the ...

Having finished at turning in her middling performance, Nanako retired to the observation area after having seen to Ringo the pony being tended to by the grooms.

Nyaneko, imperious and feline, accompanied its Crane companion as she was doubtless on her way to sulk.

The day had been particularly trying, so Nanako went back to familiar grounds to find her center, as it were. Taking a walk through the Academy, doing her best to avoid the other students and more than a few of the instructors, for whom would want to be in the vicinity of her, the Pariah Girl, Nanak...

Nanako turned up at the event with her faithful companions, Ringo the pony and - daintily perched on the saddle near the Crane - Nyaneko the cat. Taking a few breaths to calm herself, the Doji maiden nodded to the languorous cat. "Wish me luck, neh?" The cat's response was inscrutable, as ever, as i...

Ships made Nanako uneasy. So much was reliant on good fortune out at sea and out at sea was where ships lived. Despite this hesitancy, Nanako proved adept to the task of actually doing work aboard, growing in confidence as she found she was competent at handling lines and rigging. That confidence wa...

Nanako's senses reached out instinctively, the feeling that something was afoot having triggered them. ---- LN2 - Skullduggery Check | TN: 1 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1 https://sakkaku.org/media/dice/ring/exp0opp1str0suc0-60.png https://sakkaku.org/media/dice/ring/exp0opp0str1suc1-60.p...