[Day 2, Early Morning- Up the Rigging] Home Again (Open)

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi had scaled the ratlines to perch just below the lookout's post, enjoying the feeling of being back in her accustomed milieu.

Sure, she wouldn't be trimming any bonsai or learning much about poetry, but if there was one place she felt at home, it was up in the rigging of a Mantis kobune.

She waited for any orders to adjust sails, or to spell the lookout, but otherwise...

This is the best place to start a day, bar none.

[Kuni Mitsuko]

A small distance down the rigging, hands death-gripped to the ropes, is a slightly traumatized-looking Kuni girl. She hasn't curled into a ball, or even screamed in terror, but it's apparent that she views this much more like a punishment than anything else.

"Kasumi-san," Mitsuko says, awkwardly trying to hide nervousness. "You made this look so easy... And, force of will, of course I got here... A little, um, not sure what happens next." The Kuni's facepaint looks significantly less intimidating with her eyelids currently clamped shut.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi blinked at her Kuni friend.

"Well, since y'don't have duties, y'can just enjoy the view! The breeze!"

She climbed down toward the Kuni with spiderlike agility, half-hanging off of the rigging, holding one with one hand and one foot.

"Not smellin' what the seasick types are sickin' up down below! Y'got the second-best berth on th' ship!"

She paused.

"Uhm... if you're worried about th' drop, I could secure y'to the rigging?"

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Mitsuko looks at her friend, eyes saying she's seriously considering being tied on, but with a heavy breath, she quietly says, "No, I'll... I'll be ok." She takes a deep breath, then turns her head slightly to look at a bit more of the view.

"It's... Prettier than the view from the Wall," she says with nervous excitement. "Just... A lot less steady," she says with a chuckle, clearly still unnerved.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Yeah, but this isn't s'high, right?"

Kasumi swung around the back side of the rigging and scuttled back to a more comfortable perch.

"'Sides, we've got a nice day for it- y'oughtta see it on a heavy sea. Nothin' like lookin' straight down an' seein' nothing but ocean."

The Mantis smiled- and wiggled her toes.

"Also helps t'go barefoot in the ratlines. Y'get a better grip."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

The Crab can't look paler than her white makeup, but at mention of looking down at nothing but ocean, her eyes bulge in distress.

"Buh... Uh, not so high. Sure. Sure, this isn't so high," she says, willpower keeping her latched to the metaphorical rescue line that Kasumi had tossed.

"Yes, the Wall stands much higher, with a view... Well, on a clear day looking back toward Kyuden Hida, it's pretty impressive." A note of pride in her voice, she looks toward Kasumi with a bit of a smile. The Mantis' wiggling toes aren't so far away, and it's fairly clear Mitsuko is contemplating reaching out to tickle them, but she's hesitating.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Oh, izzat so? I've... never been that far inland. What's it like?"

The Mantis appeared oblivious to any hazard her bare feet were running.

[Kuni Mitsuko]

The Kuni bites her lip for a moment, vowing that she'll get the Mantis girl somehow, but first she responds.

"Kyuden Hida? It's a massive fortress, the capital of our lands, the home to some of our clans' most important dojos - like mine," she smirks, cocking her head so the Mantis can see her prideful grin. Seeing that the other girl was looking at the view instead of her Kuni friend, Mitsuko's eyes narrow and she reaches out a long finger to trace down the m middle of her bare foot.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

The Kuni's fingertip would find a callused surface- but not, to judge by the surprised yelp Kasumi gave out, an unfeeling one.

She scrambled a bit further up the rigging- then came back around.

"S'war you want, eh, Mitsuko-san?"

The Mantis waggled her own fingers.

"I'll try to catch you before you fall all the way to the deck..."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

The Kuni girl's eyes flick about the rigging quickly, looking for a tactical advantage like a good commander should. There wasn't much to be found, especially given her unfamiliarity with what represented "good ground" in this context, but one thing that certainly happened was Mitsuko forgetting her last discomfort with the height and swaying ship. There was a challenge before her now, and she was too proud a Crab to let that go.

"If only you had a shell like a Crab," Mitsuko calls, scrambling toward Kasumi for another strike, "instead of a yelp like a sea gull!" The "dive" to catch Kasumi's foot again is not graceful, even by a Crab's standards, but Mitsuko is at least athletic enough to make the maneuver without really risking a fall.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

But Kasumi was in her element far more than Mitsuko, and easily swung aside- and around, coming back around behind the Kuni to return fire at her sides.

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Gasping at Kasumi's speed and then giving a muffled squeal as her attack lands, Mitsuko is pushed onto the defensive. There's a momentary flash of concern as one hand misses the line she'd planned to grab, but her trailing hand makes the grab and she stabilizes.

"This isn't over, Kasumi-san," the skinny Crab says with a glare and a huff of breath. She takes a moment to better consider her options, letting the Mantis take initiative.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"On this battlefield? I reckon it is!"

With a grin, Kasumi scuttled directly after the Crab like a fiendish monkey- only to pull up short.

"A'course, it's a bit risky for you t'get into this sorta thing up here..."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Mitsuko spears an enthusiastic hand toward Kasumi's neck, and reaches it for half-a-second, before one of her feet slips and she loses balance. With some luck, a brief grab of one of Kasumi's calves, and rather more calm under the circumstances than she probably deserves, the Crab girl gets safely back to hugging the rigging - though turned almost fully sideways.

"No," Mitsuko says with the most commanding whimper she can manage. "No, no, you're right. You win. It's over."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Well. Lemme know if y'ever fancy a rematch on more... even footing."

She winked.

"Meanwhile...y'lookin' forward to whatever today's test is?"

[Kuni Mitsuko]

"Even footing. Yes," Mitsuko says intensely, slowly righting herself in the rigging and then starting to relax. "Definitely a rematch in more of my element," she says with a still nervous but genuine smile.

"And the challenge... I will just do my best. As you can see, this is..." She laughs. "This is not my element. Yesterday felt like being back at home, but I expect today will feel about as different as is possible."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Well. Might not be your element, but I don' see anybody else up here in the ratlines, hm? So you got the right mindset for it."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Mitsuko looks embarrassed, even through her makeup.

"I, um. I just followed you. I didn't... I didn't have a plan or anything."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Gets more people through their first day on a ship than anyone wants t'admit, Mitsuko-san. We learn by doin', and we learn what to BE doin' by seein' it done."

The Mantis grinned ruefully.

"S'why I'm such trash in court."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Feeling steadier, the Crab girl nods at Kasumi's wisdom, then frowns at the mention of court.

"I don't know, Kasumi-san. Some looking pretty and some talking like you know what you're talking about... You should do just fine in court, shouldn't you?" Mitsuko's eyes look earnest, like she really couldn't imagine Kasumi having trouble with courts - but surely a future Crab commander isn't that naive to the dangers of courts.