[D0, EA, expecting] Exploring steps

[Kuni Mitsuko]

The marketplace of Tsuma was larger, fancier and just generally more impressive than anything that Kuni Mitsuko had experienced in her homeland. Not that she would say that out loud to anyone when she was here to represent her clan as well as possible, but she could scarcely hide her wonder as she strolled aimlessly through the market for the first time.

[Suzume Rin]

At a nearby stall a young woman in a cheap kimono was badgering an amused looking merchant with questions about a small yellow jewel.
"It's hard to imagine something coming all that way." she holds the jewel and twists it this way and that way in the light.

"How much would something like this cost?" the merchant's reply is lost in the din of the marketplace but the woman visibly pales and veeeery carefully sets the jewel back down on a cushion.
"Oh, well. I am sure it will go to a more deserving samurai then. But thank you for the history of your grandfather's people, I promise to always think of them when I tell the story of the great horse with the sun in his mane."

Rin smiles and turns away from the stall, nearly barreling into Mitsuko
"Oh I'm so sorry! Please forg-" She seems to freeze for a moment at the sight of the Kuni's intimidating facepaint.

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Encircled by the face paint are eyes that flash from surprise to anger to annoyance, but with a grumble of irritation the Kuni bites back any loud outburst.

"Ahem," she says with evident annoyance. "Excuse me." The words are polite, appropriate, but her tone and the look in her eyes suggest she'd like to respond differently, perhaps in a more Crab-like way.

[Suzume Rin]

Encircled by the face paint are eyes that flash from surprise to anger to annoyance, but with a grumble of irritation the Kuni bites back any loud outburst.

"Ahem," she says with evident annoyance. "Excuse me." The words are polite, appropriate, but her tone and the look in her eyes suggest she'd like to respond differently, perhaps in a more Crab-like way.

"Of course Crab- I mean Kuni-sama. So sorry Kuni-sama. I'll just get out of your way now."
There are a few awkward moment as she shuffles left and then right, trying to find a clear route out.
"This is just like the story with the Eagle who thought he was a Sparrow and kept trying to fly in the flock with all the little birds and everyone got knocked about."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"Of course Crab- I mean Kuni-sama. So sorry Kuni-sama. I'll just get out of your way now."
There are a few awkward moment as she shuffles left and then right, trying to find a clear route out.
"This is just like the story with the Eagle who thought he was a Sparrow and kept trying to fly in the flock with all the little birds and everyone got knocked about."

"Hold on," Mitsuko says firmly, without emotion. "Are you saying I'm an eagle or a sparrow?" It seems like a serious question. Given the Crab's steel-colored eyes, perhaps a deadly serious question.

[Suzume Rin]

"Hold on," Mitsuko says firmly, without emotion. "Are you saying I'm an eagle or a sparrow?" It seems like a serious question. Given the Crab's steel-colored eyes, perhaps a deadly serious question.

"Definitely the eagle. I mean, no, definitely the Sparrow...or...or we've both Sparrows and the busy marketplace is the eagle?"
Rin's nose flushes a bit red. Nobody every liked the eagle story anyway, we'd she bring it up?

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"Definitely the eagle. I mean, no, definitely the Sparrow...or...or we've both Sparrows and the busy marketplace is the eagle?"
Rin's nose flushes a bit red. Nobody every liked the eagle story anyway, we'd she bring it up?

The Kuni's eyes narrow, assessing the other woman carefully.

Then the Crab girl laughs happily, probably impolite loudly but it's not really noticeable to anyone in the market. Except poor Rin, who might for a moment feel like the laughter is that of Emma-O.

"Oh, I thought I might be the only one feeling out of place here," Mitsuko says, her smile looking a touch silly as it alters the usual form of her face paint. "Kuni Mitsuko, daughter of Kuni Etsumiko and Kuni Adorai," she says enthusiastically. "Honored student of the Hida Battle Leader dojo," she adds, a little belatedly, annoyance flashing across her face momentarily at having forgotten that part.

[Suzume Rin]

The Kuni's eyes narrow, assessing the other woman carefully.

Then the Crab girl laughs happily, probably impolite loudly but it's not really noticeable to anyone in the market. Except poor Rin, who might for a moment feel like the laughter is that of Emma-O.

"Oh, I thought I might be the only one feeling out of place here," Mitsuko says, her smile looking a touch silly as it alters the usual form of her face paint. "Kuni Mitsuko, daughter of Kuni Etsumiko and Kuni Adorai," she says enthusiastically. "Honored student of the Hida Battle Leader dojo," she adds, a little belatedly, annoyance flashing across her face momentarily at having forgotten that part.

"For a brief second Rin had hoped the ground would open up and swallow her, but she can't help but meekly smile to match Mitsuko's expression."

"Hai, it is a lot, isn't it? This one is Suzume Rin, child of Suzume Miko and Suzume Uona. My dojo is of the Suzume Bushi, but many call us 'Yarn Spinners', which you know I've always thought was a compliment but maybe it could go either way?"

She bows very deeply
"It is an honour to meet you Kuni-sama. Forgive me, I have never met anyone from your family before and your appearance is...striking."
Although Rin was beginning to wonder if the Kuni had enough yams.

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"For a brief second Rin had hoped the ground would open up and swallow her, but she can't help but meekly smile to match Mitsuko's expression."

"Hai, it is a lot, isn't it? This one is Suzume Rin, child of Suzume Miko and Suzume Uona. My dojo is of the Suzume Bushi, but many call us 'Yarn Spinners', which you know I've always thought was a compliment but maybe it could go either way?"

She bows very deeply
"It is an honour to meet you Kuni-sama. Forgive me, I have never met anyone from your family before and your appearance is...striking."
Although Rin was beginning to wonder if the Kuni had enough yams.

The Kuni girl's smile becomes a noticeable smirk at what she considers a compliment.

"Striking is rather the objective, I would say, at least for me. Face paint isn't required for training with the Hida, but sometimes it's important to stand out. And I do try to honor my family's traditions..." Mitsuko looks the tiniest bit uncomfortable for a moment. "Anyway, what, ah... So spinning yarn, huh? Seems like a practical skill, but not very, uh... Samurai-like?"

[Suzume Rin]

The Kuni girl's smile becomes a noticeable smirk at what she considers a compliment.

"Striking is rather the objective, I would say, at least for me. Face paint isn't required for training with the Hida, but sometimes it's important to stand out. And I do try to honor my family's traditions..." Mitsuko looks the tiniest bit uncomfortable for a moment. "Anyway, what, ah... So spinning yarn, huh? Seems like a practical skill, but not very, uh... Samurai-like?"

"Ah, well it's um, a saying. So we aren't actually spinning yarn."
Rin covers her mouth and laughs quietly.
"Yarn is far too expensive, I don't think the clan could train samurai to do so even if we wanted to. It's more about our traditions. The yarn is the story of our clan and the Suzume are its spinners."
The crowd flows around them as Rin ponders how best to explain it.
"Ah, your family. They're well known for their knowledge, and all that knowledge needs to be written down, and paper is expensive. The Sparrow take that knowledge and turn it into stories we pass down. So you might have a scroll with a whole bunch of descriptions and maybe some illustrations for a kata, but we'd tell the story of Suzume Goro and the ten thousand jabs he practiced before his great fight."

It was one of Rin's favourites, as a child she'd vowed to practice the same ten thousand jabs and had found the process oddly peaceful...but unsurprisingly very boring.

"After all, even if you have no sake and no instruments and you're in a small hut somewhere, you can still share a story with someone."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

A lot, but especially:
"Ah, your family. They're well known for their knowledge, and all that knowledge needs to be written down, and paper is expensive."

Mitsuko's face scrunches slightly, as her brain tries to reconcile the Kuni archives and the Hida War College library with paper being expensive. To Rin, it likely looks like the Kuni girl is trying to determine the square root of a yam.

"Saving the cost of paper... Ok... That's. Admirable, I guess?" For a Kuni who loves to read and has a travel pack stuffed with various scrolls on a dozen different topics, this notion of how the Suzume operate isn't just foreign: it's unfathomable.

[Suzume Rin]

Mitsuko's face scrunches slightly, as her brain tries to reconcile the Kuni archives and the Hida War College library with paper being expensive. To Rin, it likely looks like the Kuni girl is trying to determine the square root of a yam.

"Saving the cost of paper... Ok... That's. Admirable, I guess?" For a Kuni who loves to read and has a travel pack stuffed with various scrolls on a dozen different topics, this notion of how the Suzume operate isn't just foreign: it's unfathomable.

"Oh yes, and necessary, the clan's resources are needed elsewhere. It's one of the reasons I'm excited to explore the Academy's library. I'm told they have hundreds of scrolls."
To Rin, it was close to having an infinite number of stories all in the one room.

"Uh." The Kuni looked like this was a lot to process "I understand our customs are slightly different in that regard."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"Oh yes, and necessary, the clan's resources are needed elsewhere. It's one of the reasons I'm excited to explore the Academy's library. I'm told they have hundreds of scrolls."
To Rin, it was close to having an infinite number of stories all in the one room.

"Uh." The Kuni looked like this was a lot to process "I understand our customs are slightly different in that regard."

Being excited about reading is something that Mitsuko definitely understands, so she relaxes and smiles.

"What's your favorite subject to read about? Er, or just to learn about? I've always got scrolls with me to study on one thing or another." the studious Kuni smiles again.

[Suzume Rin]

Being excited about reading is something that Mitsuko definitely understands, so she relaxes and smiles.

"What's your favorite subject to read about? Er, or just to learn about? I've always got scrolls with me to study on one thing or another." the studious Kuni smiles again.

"Oh it's a bit mundane, I think but-"
Rin rubs her nose.
-I've always enjoyed stories about exotic people and places, the sort of places I'll probably never go. Stories are the next best thing, I mean, I actually met a Mantis this morning. He had a tattoo and a sharkskin vest and everything. He even did the voice when I asked! Oh that almost made the whole trip worth it."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"The... voice?" Mitsuko asks, a bit of confusion creasing her brow.

[Suzume Rin]

"The... voice?" Mitsuko asks, a bit of confusion creasing her brow.

"Oh, you know"
Rin clears her throat
"Arrr! Avast! There be a sparrow"
Looking pleased with her imitation "I think I've got it right."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"The... voice?" Mitsuko asks, a bit of confusion creasing her brow.

"Oh, you know"
Rin clears her throat
"Arrr! Avast! There be a sparrow"
Looking pleased with her imitation "I think I've got it right."

Mitsuko actually giggles a little. She closes her eyes and shakes her head a little.

"I think I've heard a Yasuki or two to talk that way... Maybe something about sea air that makes people sound strange. But yes, learning things is good. I don't suppose I've met much of anyone who isn't a Crab... Well, one visiting Lion sensei at the academy, but not really enough to know much about the Lion as a result." The Crab girl looks a little wistful, like she's recalling something of importance.

[Suzume Rin]

Mitsuko actually giggles a little. She closes her eyes and shakes her head a little.

"I think I've heard a Yasuki or two to talk that way... Maybe something about sea air that makes people sound strange. But yes, learning things is good. I don't suppose I've met much of anyone who isn't a Crab... Well, one visiting Lion sensei at the academy, but not really enough to know much about the Lion as a result." The Crab girl looks a little wistful, like she's recalling something of importance.

“There does seem to be quite the correlation between the sea and ‘the voice’. Maybe that’s just what salt air makes you sound like?”

Mental note to see if anyone else at the Topaz talked like this.

“You’ve met a Lion? That’s very interesting. There’s actually a Lion in my family history. Well, he killed my great grandfather, so it’s complicated.”
Although Rin assumed not particularly unusual.

“What was your Lion like? Were they Lionny?”

[Kuni Mitsuko]

“There does seem to be quite the correlation between the sea and ‘the voice’. Maybe that’s just what salt air makes you sound like?”

Mitsuko smiles, shrugging slightly.

“You’ve met a Lion? That’s very interesting. There’s actually a Lion in my family history. Well, he killed my great grandfather, so it’s complicated.”

The Kuni hesitates, really not sure how...

“What was your Lion like? Were they Lionny?”

That seems a safe enough topic, so Mitsuko turns thoughtful. "Well... Yes, I think he was. Er, I mean he was what I thought an Akodo should be. Are Akodo more Liony than a Matsu would be?" As she thinks more about it, Mitsuko realizes that while safe, the question isn't as simple as she'd thought.

[Suzume Rin]

“There does seem to be quite the correlation between the sea and ‘the voice’. Maybe that’s just what salt air makes you sound like?”

Mitsuko smiles, shrugging slightly.

“You’ve met a Lion? That’s very interesting. There’s actually a Lion in my family history. Well, he killed my great grandfather, so it’s complicated.”

The Kuni hesitates, really not sure how...

“What was your Lion like? Were they Lionny?”

That seems a safe enough topic, so Mitsuko turns thoughtful. "Well... Yes, I think he was. Er, I mean he was what I thought an Akodo should be. Are Akodo more Liony than a Matsu would be?" As she thinks more about it, Mitsuko realizes that while safe, the question isn't as simple as she'd thought.

"Well....they're definitely more Akodoie...."
Rin looks around to make sure no passing Lion was tempted to decapitate her.
"But I guess Akodo...are the family of Akodo no kami....so I mean...you know...."
Small shrug