[D1 EA, Expecting] Too Windy Outside

[Shiba Jiro]

"What are sharks like?" he asks.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Hungry. Really pretty, though, when they're just swimming. Plenty of teeth, plenty dangerous if you get on the wrong end of 'em. Oh, and they can absolutely take you apart if if they've a mind to."

She swirled her tea in her cup.

"Hide's... rough. Makes a good grip for a sword."

[Shiba Jiro]

"They sound interesting. So, are they like fish, or squid or octopus?" he asks, not being from a coastal town.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

She chuckled.

"Sharks're fish. Big fish, fast fish, but still fish. Squid, octopus, cuttlefish.... they're all very different. Got the suckers on their arms, and no real teeth, just beaks..."

The talk of arms reminded her of the Octopus Song, and she flushed, briefly.

"But yeah, very different. Although an octopus can be damned clever- we sometimes place bets on 'em, when we've got one to hand."

[Shiba Jiro]

"I've never seen a live octopus. I did see a dead one when I snuck into the kitchen while visiting Crane lands previously, so I could learn to make sushi from one of the chefs. Took me the entire week just to figure out tuna. Had to learn the others later. They are certainly strange creatures," he said with a smile.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Smart, too! Saw one once crawl out of the tank it was in to get into another tank with some fish in it."

She chuckled.

"Wanted a snack. Got it, too! I try not t'eat 'em these days. Don't like th' thought of eatin' anything that smart."

[Shiba Jiro]

"I didn't know they were that smart. Not that I have eaten much sushi anyway. Think I had octopus once. Honestly? I've always been more of a fan of smoked fish anyway. But you are probably used to fresh seafood," he says with a grin. "Do mantis eat much rice?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"When we can get it. "

She shrugged.

"Same with a lot of food, really. We preserve plenty fo our catch, a'course. Eatin' rice on the regular is kind of a status thing for us."

[Shiba Jiro]

"That's actually really neat when you think about it. Even the least well off people on land eat rice as a staple and we dream of fresh fish and other fancy spices and things. The Mantis likely eat those things we dream of as staples and rice is more rare. Though it makes me think that most of you prefer it that way, because I imagine that the rate for exchanging fresh tuna for rice would really favor the fisherman."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Oh, it does, an' it can, but we also deal in more exotic stuff- like those spices in our islands' names."

She shrugged.

"Not that I know of anyone in the Mantis goin' hungry unless the ship gets becalmed and you're in the doldrums s'long y'eat up your supplies..."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Must be sailing terms," he says with a smile. "I imagine that's like when us folks stuck on land run out of rice in the winter if we don't ration properly?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Well... kinda? Dunno. See, if you're becalmed, your ship is generally stuck floating wherever it is, and until the wind picks up, you're kind just stuck sitting in one place hoping for the wind to pick up."

[Shiba Jiro]

He nods. "So it's more like getting stranded. That sounds inconvenient and unpleasant. I hope that the winds are always strong for you," he says with a smile. "Wouldn't want you to get stuck like that."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Only happened to me once, about four years gone. Which was lucky, 'cause I was still pretty little, so I didn' need as much t'eat."

She frowned at the memory.

"Water was a problem, though."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Yes. Because you can't drink water from the ocean or something? It makes you sick I think, or something like that," he says with a nod.

She keeps bringing up all the bad mundane stuff. Like she wants to be sad or something...

"But it must be beautiful out there? Like a vast open field with nothing in the distance except Lady Sun's or Lord Moon's light."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Has its moments. Right after a storm, when everything's still, or when y'get dolphins or whales breaching nearby. An' the stars, a'course. Stars over the sea with no light other'n a ship's lantern anywhere... y'can see real well."

[Shiba Jiro]

"That sounds pretty amazing. Seeing the stars in the sky, and I imagine reflecting off the water? It would be nice to see that some day. Maybe even paint it," he says with a wistful expression.

"Though the sights are not the only splendid thing one can see with the Mantis I imagine. If that hair decoration is any indication, then you also have some very interesting and stunning arts that do an amazing job of complementing the lovely visions they accompany."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Oh, this? Nobody in the Mantis Clan made it. It's from the Ivory Kingdoms."

And then the rest of what he said penetrated her admittedly skewed social understanding.

Wastin' no time...

"But yeah, Cousin Ichigo thought it'd suit me. An' I like t'think it does."

[Shiba Jiro]

"I would agree with your cousin. Though, the Ivory Kingdoms... that's one of the gaijin places? I think there were some things from there in one of the shops in the city. Do you see much from their lands?" he asks, curious and looking at the ornament.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Oh, I've never been- Lord Yoritomo wouldn' send anyone who's not a full samurai yet to a foreign port. But Cousin Ichigo makes a few trips, and both m'parents have been at one time or another... we pick up such things as interest us."

She gestured to her hair ornament.

"Stuff like this, a few recipes- they do stuff with curry that's like kissing Osano-Wo, a few weapons, and various odds and ends."