[LM1] Test of the Body Observation Thread

[Shiba Haru]

Another thing Crane lands were full of was Crane. Having completed the test of the body, Kakita Yuji took himself off the field, and saw Shiba Haru in covversation with a Sparrow. Despite his desire to join the chat and meet the Sparrow, courtly training dictated he simply position himself nearby to allow Haru the option of brining him into the conversation, or allow other to grab him instead. Perhaps Haru wanted more people to talk to, perhaps not, it was up to him.

Haru took note of the Kakita and turned to include him, bowing as he spoke.

"Good morning Kakita Yuji-san, please join us. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Suzume Rin-san?"

[Kakita Yuji]

Haru took note of the Kakita and turned to include him, bowing as he spoke.

"Good morning Kakita Yuji-san, please join us. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Suzume Rin-san?"

Yuji closed the distance and bowed.

"I have not. With so many bright talents in Tsuma, it takes some time to be able to meet all of them. I hope Suzume-san has enjoyed her stay in Tsuma thus far."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

Kaoru witnessed the other competitors attentively, but there wasn't much out of the ordinary to be seen really. Most samurai were doing as expected for their clans and schools.

The only things that could be labeled as oddities were the followings:

The ronin showing was adequate... But for the Miya to sponsor her, her skills had to be a lot more than merely adequate. Maybe this wasn't the particular competences that have caught the Imperial intentions? Unless her presence is due to something else entirely? Note to check if she wasn't yet another imperial bastard.

The Ikoma girl seemed to have severe overthinking issues... But Kaoru wasn't exactly one who could talk on the matter. And the Lion's skills were otherwise on par with what could be expected of her clan.

The suspicion the Mantis guy was there mostly because of his parentage and a complex political game between the Crane and the minor clan was certainly growing.

[Suzume Rin]

Snip

Snip

Deep bow

"I have Kakita-sama. Your family's lands are even more beautiful than the tales told about them. I count myself very blessed to have this chance to see them."
Gesturing at Haru
"Shiba Haru-sama and I were just discussing the town's surrounds."

[Shiba Haru]

Snip

Snip

Deep bow

"I have Kakita-sama. Your family's lands are even more beautiful than the tales told about them. I count myself very blessed to have this chance to see them."
Gesturing at Haru
"Shiba Haru-sama and I were just discussing the town's surrounds."

"Kakita-san was telling me about the more dangerous creatures that stalk these lands last night." He said with a wry smile.

[Kakita Yuji]

Yuji smiles in return.

"Ah yes, the tales of the dreaded Tsu Fish. A fish that walks upon venomous claws, hiding in treetops waiting for the chance to drop down upon the unwary." he recounts. "The tsu fish hunt is a traditional challenge of the Topaz Championship, though the Tsu Fish themselves are not hunted. Instead, the challenge is to return with one of their eggs."

[Suzume Rin]

Rin's eyes widen.

"They sound so much scarier than in the stories. I had never even thought of looking in the treetops for fish, I coulda been easy prey!"
She casts a quick glance at some nearby trees, just to be sure.
"I hope they don't mind us taking a few eggs."

[Shiba Haru]

Haru smiled and laughed inwardly not believing the fish were real.

"If we do go out for a ride we will need to be careful to avoid them, we wouldn't want an unfair advantage if the hunt becomes one of our tests."

[Kakita Yuji]

Yuji nodded, though he did look at the Sparrow curiously.

"Do the pair of you have much experience riding?" he asked, honestly not sure.

[Ikoma Aya]

Jiro nodded in his brother's direction, with a slight smile. He was pleased enough with his performance, given he was not skilled at any of what they asked him to do. Noticing the Lion he hadn't spoken with at the table yesterday, he goes to greet her, bowing when he is an appropriate distance. "Ikoma-san. It is an honor. You took quite an amazing shot. Do you mind if I join you?"

Ball still in her hands, she turns to meet the voice and immediately bows respectfully.

"Shiba-san. I... eto... I'd be pleased for the company, really!", she says, eyes down for a while before she raises them to his again. "And... thanks for your words. Although I feel there's much to impove... well, you seemed more aware of what we should do there than I did", she says with a very slight grin. "Even if it seemed your shot didn't go quite as you expected."

That was a bit blunt, granted... but with how she was with herself...

"I... ah... we must always strive to improve, I suppose", she adds, looking down again.

"Oh, but... I'm sorry. We didn't have much of a chance to talk yesterday, ne?"

[Shiba Jiro]

Ball still in her hands, she turns to meet the voice and immediately bows respectfully.

"Shiba-san. I... eto... I'd be pleased for the company, really!", she says, eyes down for a while before she raises them to his again. "And... thanks for your words. Although I feel there's much to impove... well, you seemed more aware of what we should do there than I did", she says with a very slight grin. "Even if it seemed your shot didn't go quite as you expected."

That was a bit blunt, granted... but with how she was with herself...

"I... ah... we must always strive to improve, I suppose", she adds, looking down again.

"Oh, but... I'm sorry. We didn't have much of a chance to talk yesterday, ne?"

"Being aware is not quite the same as being able," he says with a chuckle.

"I did better than expected. To be honest, I suspect many tests here will be outside of my general skill set. But, can't do anything but give it my best shot. And I can see that you plan on doing so too. I look forward to seeing you excel. Which of your clan's esteemed schools are you from?"

[Suzume Rin]

Yuji nodded, though he did look at the Sparrow curiously.

"Do the pair of you have much experience riding?" he asked, honestly not sure.

"More than I thought I'd ever get. I was just telling Haru-sama how a horse is like a family member who eats a lot. I guess they're a bit more difficult to care for when food is scarce."

[Shiba Haru]

Yuji nodded, though he did look at the Sparrow curiously.

"Do the pair of you have much experience riding?" he asked, honestly not sure.

"More than I thought I'd ever get. I was just telling Haru-sama how a horse is like a family member who eats a lot. I guess they're a bit more difficult to care for when food is scarce."

Riding is one of my favorite activities and I've just begun learning horse-archery"

[Kakita Ahiru]

Kaoru witnessed the other competitors attentively, but there wasn't much out of the ordinary to be seen really. Most samurai were doing as expected for their clans and schools.

The only things that could be labeled as oddities were the followings:

The ronin showing was adequate... But for the Miya to sponsor her, her skills had to be a lot more than merely adequate. Maybe this wasn't the particular competences that have caught the Imperial intentions? Unless her presence is due to something else entirely? Note to check if she wasn't yet another imperial bastard.

The Ikoma girl seemed to have severe overthinking issues... But Kaoru wasn't exactly one who could talk on the matter. And the Lion's skills were otherwise on par with what could be expected of her clan.

The suspicion the Mantis guy was there mostly because of his parentage and a complex political game between the Crane and the minor clan was certainly growing.

Seeing one of the others who seemed like a courtier, or similarly trained, Ahiru approached and bowed. "Good morning, Shosuro-san. I'm Kakita Ahiru."

[Ikoma Aya]

"Being aware is not quite the same as being able," he says with a chuckle.

"I did better than expected. To be honest, I suspect many tests here will be outside of my general skill set. But, can't do anything but give it my best shot. And I can see that you plan on doing so too. I look forward to seeing you excel. Which of your clan's esteemed schools are you from?"

She nods at his remark. "Well, aware helps being able. If not now, later". The voice is friendy, but rather direct.

"I studied with the Akodo War College. Well, not in the Akodo War College, but one of its schools, closer to home. Focused on the more practical curriculum rather than leading troops - as quite a few in my direct family."

Another nod at the boy. The emotion that almost overflowed the day before was nowhere to be seen.

"And Shiba-san? I wonder why you say that - your clan deemed your skills worthy of being here, ne?"

She says that with confidence, but her eyes lower to the ground again.

[Shiba Jiro]

"Oh, I wasn't saying that I don't have faith in my skills and training. Just that the tests are likely not tailored to my school's curriculum. The championship tends to be won by a duelist or other bushi. I suspect an artisan has never won," he replied with a lightly cheerful tone.

"Just like I would not expect to be well equipped for any other martial tournament."

Jiro does not avert his eyes but he also never quite makes full eye contact after she keeps looking away. It seems to make her uncomfortable at times, so he simply avoids it unless she seeks it out.

"My brother spent some time with the Lion. A short stay during his training. I wonder if he is familiar with the place you trained?"

[Kakita Yuji]

"More than I thought I'd ever get. I was just telling Haru-sama how a horse is like a family member who eats a lot. I guess they're a bit more difficult to care for when food is scarce."

Riding is one of my favorite activities and I've just begun learning horse-archery"

"A fair assessment, Suzume-san. The rider and mount should be working towards each other's benefit, the rider benefitting from the horse's legs and the horse benefitting from the rider's hands. Though if you think our horses are hungry, one can only imagine how much the Unicorn's enormous steeds must consume, perhaps as much as a family rather than a member of."

He looked thoughtful at the Phoenix's contribution.

"Hm, I'm still working on the archery part of the horse archery. I think having a good rapport with my mount should help with that at least."

[Suzume Rin]

"A fair assessment, Suzume-san. The rider and mount should be working towards each other's benefit, the rider benefitting from the horse's legs and the horse benefitting from the rider's hands. Though if you think our horses are hungry, one can only imagine how much the Unicorn's enormous steeds must consume, perhaps as much as a family rather than a member of."

He looked thoughtful at the Phoenix's contribution.

"Hm, I'm still working on the archery part of the horse archery. I think having a good rapport with my mount should help with that at least."

"Well I ain't much use at archery so I think Ishi, that's the horse, is gonna have to do most of the work. You know they always say you will the arrow where to go but it just seems to fly off in any direction when I try. Most I can do is use a sling, and I think I'd probably get in trouble if I turned up and tried throwing stones around here."

Looking between the two
"Slings are great since the stones are ch- uh, it's easier to just get a bunch of the right stones if you know where to look."

[Kakita Yuji]

"Slings are great since the stones are ch- uh, it's easier to just get a bunch of the right stones if you know where to look."

Ah the plight of the Sparrow. A lot of the old Crane were happy to look down upon their poor cousins, but Yuji truly did believe that they had a lot to contribute, and it was wrong to snub them simply because of their ways.

"Well, I would say it's fair to assume that it's not simply enough for the arrow to know the way. After all, from my studies I know the directions to many places in the Empire, but I'm certainly not about to run off to the capital in the middle of the tournament." he said with a small smile. "You have to spend a lot of time with the arrow before it will make use of it's knowledge. If you would care to learn with myself, or perhaps Shiba-san, we can help you practice your fluency in arrow."

[Shiba Haru]

"A fair assessment, Suzume-san. The rider and mount should be working towards each other's benefit, the rider benefitting from the horse's legs and the horse benefitting from the rider's hands. Though if you think our horses are hungry, one can only imagine how much the Unicorn's enormous steeds must consume, perhaps as much as a family rather than a member of."

He looked thoughtful at the Phoenix's contribution.

"Hm, I'm still working on the archery part of the horse archery. I think having a good rapport with my mount should help with that at least."

"Well I ain't much use at archery so I think Ishi, that's the horse, is gonna have to do most of the work. You know they always say you will the arrow where to go but it just seems to fly off in any direction when I try. Most I can do is use a sling, and I think I'd probably get in trouble if I turned up and tried throwing stones around here."

Looking between the two
"Slings are great since the stones are ch- uh, it's easier to just get a bunch of the right stones if you know where to look."

"I am still very much a novice at combining the two disciplines but I love to try new things. As such, having never seen a sling in actual use before I hope I get a chance to see you in action Suzume-san. I will say that horse archery is really demanding on your legs and core to hold you steady. I need to find a new workout just for that I think. My stomach and lower back ached for two days after my first time trying it."