[EM3] Tea and contemplation (expecting)

[Asahina Sakura]

Sakura entered the establishment, albeit ridiculously early in the morning, but having awoken with a start. Stifling the smallest of yawns, the Crane gives a cursory bow to Big Shinji before shuffling to a table and ordering a cup of breakfast tea and a small bowl of rice in preparation for the day ahead.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi scowled at the weather as she strode in.

How dare the weather try to save her from herself?

So much for trying out the hammock.

Feeling a bit sulky, the Mantis looked over the bill of fare.

Leastways I can get some fresh fish.

But first... she needed to find a place to sit.

[Asahina Sakura]

Waiting patiently for her order, the little Crane decided to do some people-watching, and her gaze ticked quickly to the door upon entrance of... a Mantis? Hm.
Sakura smiled just a bit and met the other girls' gaze pointedly, then looked to the free spot across from herself, then back to the Mantis girl and gave a friendly inviting shrug?

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Oh hell, now I gotta try'n talk right around a Crane...

Kasumi smiled, nodded back, and ambled over.

"Er... mornin'..."

Whatsthemonwhatsthemonwhatsthemon...

"... Asahina-san. Yukikaze no Kasumi, of th' Mantis. Looks like you're gettin' on with bein' blessed by Inari, so I probably needn't ask..."

[Asahina Sakura]

A very friendly smile lit up her features and Sakura stuttered a little, "Oh, no, I, see, rice? Breakfast? Have you...?" Hm. She took a quick breath.
"Did you want to share, Yukikaze-san? Oh right. I'm called, yes, Asahina, you got that right, um, Asahina Sakura?"
Was... was that a question? It sounded like a question.
"It's nice to meet you; you're here to compete, too?" Sakura asked before she heard herself, realized how obvious the answer was, and visibly winced.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Gah, what's she heard about us to be so out of sorts? Probably thinks we eat people or something...

"Er, just Kasumi-san is fine, Asahina-san- Yukikaze is my ship, not my family... an' yeah, here for the tournament."

And to develop a crush on a real nice Phoenix boy who's going to marry someone else. Because I'm brilliant that way.

"An' I'd be honored t'share."

She had a seat, trying not to startle the Crane with any sudden movements.

[Asahina Sakura]

Her ...ship? Not her family?
Sakura's mouth dropped open and an exaggerated "Ohhhhh!" slipped free, dark eyebrows shooting skyward and she nodded quickly, obviously filing that bit of information away. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding!"

Was this awkward? It felt a little awkward. She blinked and looked for her order to appear.
"Are you excited? This whole thing is exciting, isn't it...? Also terrifying. And intimidating. Very um, intimidating. Maybe not so much for you though? I thought I recognized you from the Winter Wind, um, yesterday? It was yesterday, yes? The ...boat, with the..." her hands peeked out from her sleeves and Sakura made a pantomime of tying a rope? Maybe? "Sailing?"

This was going perfectly.
Sakura exhaled in an embarrassed huff.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi chuckled.

"Aye, I was th'one spent most of the day up th'ratlines. Feels like home t'me."

She tried to remember if, well, any of the Crane had done particularly well, didn't recall that any had, and opted against mentioning performance.

"Hope y'didn't get, well... seasick?"

Kasumi, who had never once in her life been seasick, only knew that sufferers tended to be utterly miserable.

[Asahina Sakura]

Her brow crinkled in confusion, "Th...ratlines?"
She pushed a loose lock of white hair back from her features then and gave a rather big smile, "I didn't get sick!" Sakura confirmed, rather proudly!

Then the tea and rice arrived! She quietly asked for a second serving of both, "For my friend," she motioned to Kasumi, and looked at the servant as if for confirmation that there was, in fact, someone sitting across from her that they could see, too? "We are, um, friends? Maybe? Or we could be? I don't have many." That was painfully obvious, wasn't it? Ooof.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi assessed the situation very quickly.

And realized that they both thought the other one had the upper hand, and grinned sunnily.

"Don' see why not. Lemme tell ya somethin' that's probably not said in Crane lands all that much, but which I got told by One-Eyed Jinzo when I first came aboard th'Yukikaze- it ain't possible t'make a mistake, y'get me? Not talkin' t'me, all right? Now, the ratlines're the riggin' goes up the side, the ropes we use like a ladder aboard ship. Gets y'up th'mast right quick."

[Asahina Sakura]

The Mantis' sunny grin was met with a relieved laugh. "Oh! Good!" Sakura picked up her cup of tea as she watched the animated other girl speak, and nodded accordingly. "I didn't, um, climb any...thing? That didn't seem... secure. For me, I mean, I would've probably just blown away, it was so windy! But maybe I should have? The view of the shore was nice. Really nice. I said to Kakita Yuji-san, I said, I should've brought my sketchbook? It was a sight worth holding onto."

She shifts contemplatively and then sets down her tea again without having tasted it, waiting for Kasumi's to be brought out.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"I was tellin' Kuni Mitsuko-san, th'riggin's best climbed barefoot anyhow. Safer. But I wish more people had given it a try, 'cause it's my favorite part of the ship, up in the tops."

She sighed.

"Some days it feels like y'can see everythin' from up there."

[Asahina Sakura]

"Oh! Well! I haven't, um, climbed anything barefoot since I was little, uh, when I was wintering? At my aunt and uncle's?" Was it a question? She paused for just a moment, tilting her head as if listening to something, and then rubbed at her temple lightly, "Yes, then I fell off the roof, I was getting to that, thank you," she added before her gaze ticked back to meet Kasumi's and she smiled again.

"It sounds lovely, Kasumi-san. I'm sorry I missed the opportunity."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Hears voices, it seems. Well. Takes all kinds.

"Well. Always next time."

She chuckled.

"Although if you're worried about fallin', there's always a safety line we could try."

[Asahina Sakura]

"I didn't say I was worried..." She leaned in over the table, eyes wide, "Really? Do you think we could? I mean, that wouldn't be getting into too much trouble?"

The servant approaches again, this time with Kasumi's tea and rice, and Sakura sits up straight as bamboo and nods in thanks before retrieving her cup again, blushing a little.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Well, I'd need permission to get you aboard a ship, an' y'wouldn't be secured until you got high enough, but yeah. Those knots we tie ain't just for sails, y'know."

Kasumi bowed thanks to the server.

"But I could spot you up the ratlines. Done it before."

[Asahina Sakura]

Sakura nodded happily, nearly bonking her nose on the rim of her cup before righting again and smiling, "Then it'll be fun! Yes? Um, as long as my brother doesn't find out? You won't tell him? He's a bit of a stick in the mud, I think," she sips carefully.

"So what, uh what do you do best? I mean, besides traversing on ships? What do you do for your lord? Do Mantises have lords? Mantisi? Manti? What's the plural of Mantis?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"I'd need t'know who your brother is. And if he's tougher'n my brother Ichiki. He's got a way with sticks in the mud."

She smiled and sipped her tea.

"S'far as it goes, I'm trainin' t'be an officer for a kobune. With the hope of every Mantis, t'rise t'captain someday. And we got a lord. Lord Yoritomo calls the shots, an' we obey."

She paused.

"Think the plural of Mantis is Mantises. Think y'had it right th'first time. Anyhow. How 'bout you? Whatcha learnin' t'do for th'Crane?""

[Asahina Sakura]

"If there was a championship for boring brothers, I'm sure it'd be worth watching, yes? With snacks? Oh! Um. my brother is Asahina Tenshin," the Emerald Magistrate.

She puts on an attempt at a serious expression before sipping from her tea again.
"Me? I research, and um, document? Spirit activity? for the Crane?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Oh, Ichiki's not boring. An' he's got no patience for those who are. He's the one had me runnin' laps around a ship's after-rail."

Sip.

"Spirit activity, huh? Gotta admit, not somethin' I know much about. We know they're out there, but most of th'time, when you're in th'open ocean, y'don't think about 'em overmuch. You a shugenja?"