Day 2 [EM] Fishing for Clues (Expecting)

[Suzume Rin]

Rin watches with rapt attention as her lure bobs gently in the wake of the Winter Wind as the ships starts heading out for open sea. Everytime a small wave seems to swamp her line her hands dart out to get ready to reel a catch in before falling back to her side. The Sparrow wears an oversized straw hat to keep off most of the sun and when she's not focusing on her fishing she bombards Hirame with questions.

"So the back of the ship is the....aft? What is it after? The rest of the ship?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame considered that a few moments. "Yes." He finally said, nodding authoritatively. Well, it definitely seemed like a good guess, anyway.

He, too, was outfitted for the expedition, except that he wore his sharkskin jacket. As usual. Hey, if he did well, he wanted to be eyecatching! If he did poorly... well, he'd just make sure to do his best!

"Is this your first time ocean fishing?" He asked.

[Suzume Rin]

Hirame considered that a few moments. "Yes." He finally said, nodding authoritatively. Well, it definitely seemed like a good guess, anyway.

He, too, was outfitted for the expedition, except that he wore his sharkskin jacket. As usual. Hey, if he did well, he wanted to be eyecatching! If he did poorly... well, he'd just make sure to do his best!

"Is this your first time ocean fishing?" He asked.

"Hmmm? Oh yeah."
Gesturing down at the comparatively calm ocean
"Is it always so rocky? Feels like the whole boat is going this way and that underneath us. Do ships ever just tip over?...Is that something folks should be worried about?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame looked down at the mostly still water, and then grinned. "You'll get used to it. It's called getting your sealegs. I don't even notice this amount of movement, really."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about them tipping over. Definitely not a Mantis ship; we know how to make 'em right. I mean, it's not like it never happens, but it takes a serious storm, or hitting something, or a sea monster for that to happen. Don't figure there's much chance of that today." Hirame sighed as he let his hook drift in the water.

[Suzume Rin]

Hirame looked down at the mostly still water, and then grinned. "You'll get used to it. It's called getting your sealegs. I don't even notice this amount of movement, really."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about them tipping over. Definitely not a Mantis ship; we know how to make 'em right. I mean, it's not like it never happens, but it takes a serious storm, or hitting something, or a sea monster for that to happen. Don't figure there's much chance of that today." Hirame sighed as he let his hook drift in the water.

"I certainly hope so! Don't know what we'd do if we hit a sea monster, maybe jump on its back I guess?...But then what if it swam away?"
Rin ponders this, concluding fighting sea monsters was no easy task.
"This is fun though, me on a real Mantis ship full of real Mantis. They all kinda shout at eachother just like you do Hirame-sama. Not that you're shouty, but everyone is so direct. I felt bad when Shou-sama asked me to pull on a rope and I got it wrong 3 times. I my defense there are so many ropes, no idea how you all keep track of 'em".

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame shrugged. "I mean, planning's all well and good, but sometimes you just gotta jump on a sea monster, and worry about it swimming away once that happens, right?"

He waved his rod around. "We've got a system. It's important!" He flashed a grin at her. "You see a rope, if it's not doing something, you coil it. Once you've coiled every rope ten-thousand times, you get to know them by name. And then it's easy to know which one to pull on!" He may have been exaggerating a bit. But not much...

[Suzume Rin]

Hirame shrugged. "I mean, planning's all well and good, but sometimes you just gotta jump on a sea monster, and worry about it swimming away once that happens, right?"

He waved his rod around. "We've got a system. It's important!" He flashed a grin at her. "You see a rope, if it's not doing something, you coil it. Once you've coiled every rope ten-thousand times, you get to know them by name. And then it's easy to know which one to pull on!" He may have been exaggerating a bit. But not much...

Hirame's enthusiasm seems infectious and Rin nods
"Right! Yeah!....And coiling it is just....you make a circle with it? Or you wrap it around your arm?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Depends on the rope." Hirame said. He seemed to be enjoying giving answers confidently. Unlike some of the times he did that earlier, he was actually right about a lot of these! "The smaller ones you can wrap around your arm, and that makes it easier. But the really big rope... that stuff takes working in groups, or laying it all out on the deck or something."

He winced. "Also, you don't want to know how much that stuff costs. Seriously. Ship's accountant has a fit if we have to cut one of the big ropes."

[Suzume Rin]

"Depends on the rope." Hirame said. He seemed to be enjoying giving answers confidently. Unlike some of the times he did that earlier, he was actually right about a lot of these! "The smaller ones you can wrap around your arm, and that makes it easier. But the really big rope... that stuff takes working in groups, or laying it all out on the deck or something."

He winced. "Also, you don't want to know how much that stuff costs. Seriously. Ship's accountant has a fit if we have to cut one of the big ropes."

Rin turns to eye one of the ropes, if a Mantis was worried about how much they cost....
"I'll be careful, I'd hate to come on your beautiful ship and damage it, that'd be like running through your neighbour's yam fields! It's just disrespect."

Although, now Hirame had mentioned it.
"I heard some of the sailors talking about how we gotta estimate how much cargo is worth, how'd folks figure out how much something is worth? I mean, rice is easy enough I suppose, but the rest of it?"
Looking a little unsure of the whole process, was it even right to be setting prices? Rin turned back to peer at her fishing line.

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Nah, Mantis ships are tough. Don't worry about it too much." He frowned. "But also, be careful. A rope pulled tight can rip an arm off, or snap your neck, and there's always bits of the ship moving around..."

"Well..." Hirame frowned. "It's hard to explain. Things are worth different amounts in different places. Like, fish are probably cheap in Tsuma, but maybe, I don't know, wood is expensive. So it pays to know the area, so you know how much to ask for the stuff you have."

He frowned at her. "Does that help?"

[Suzume Rin]

"Nah, Mantis ships are tough. Don't worry about it too much." He frowned. "But also, be careful. A rope pulled tight can rip an arm off, or snap your neck, and there's always bits of the ship moving around..."

"Well..." Hirame frowned. "It's hard to explain. Things are worth different amounts in different places. Like, fish are probably cheap in Tsuma, but maybe, I don't know, wood is expensive. So it pays to know the area, so you know how much to ask for the stuff you have."

He frowned at her. "Does that help?"

"Oh, so it's just based on where you are? That's simple I guess..and it makes sense too, everything is so much more expensive outside of Sparrow lands! People should really come to us to buy things, they'd be much cheaper."
Rin seems satisfied she's figured this commerce thing out.

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Okay." Hirame nodded. "Sure. What do you have? Yams, right? Do you know of any place where yams would be high in demand?" Hirame certainly didn't; he'd only just learned that yams existed!

[Suzume Rin]

"Okay." Hirame nodded. "Sure. What do you have? Yams, right? Do you know of any place where yams would be high in demand?" Hirame certainly didn't; he'd only just learned that yams existed!

"Well, there's obvious our lands and uh....hmm...places where people would want a lot of yams...."
Rin's brow furrows slightly
"I dunno, people just leave 'em all over the place in Crane lands. I don't think they care about yams at all!...But nobody's perfect. This trading thing is harder than I thought. Is this why the Mantis have a lot of boats? So you can get to places where people want things easier?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame grinned. "Yeah, that's the tricky part. But luckily for us, the markets are pretty well established. From the isles over to Rokugan, north or south depending on season. Maybe bring some stuff along the coast until the winds and seas are more favorable. And then a load back to the isles. Different captains have different routes. It's really complicated."

He nodded. "Exactly. I mean, people need stuff, right? And there's no better sailors, so we're often the ones to move the stuff to where it's needed."

He frowned down at his rod, and then over at her. "So why yams, anyway? Maybe you could grow hemp? Make rope?" That stuff was expensive, after all!

[Suzume Rin]

Hirame grinned. "Yeah, that's the tricky part. But luckily for us, the markets are pretty well established. From the isles over to Rokugan, north or south depending on season. Maybe bring some stuff along the coast until the winds and seas are more favorable. And then a load back to the isles. Different captains have different routes. It's really complicated."

He nodded. "Exactly. I mean, people need stuff, right? And there's no better sailors, so we're often the ones to move the stuff to where it's needed."

He frowned down at his rod, and then over at her. "So why yams, anyway? Maybe you could grow hemp? Make rope?" That stuff was expensive, after all!

"Oh we tried! But turns out hemp just can't grow in the Suzume lands. Something about 'mostly rock' and 'inhospitable weather'. Yams and a few lucky spots for rice are what we're working with. Although my uncle got this idea to bring in plum trees in their own little pots. That way they'd have good soil and we'd eat the plums. They're so expensive though, heavy too."
She shrugs, her expression softening

"It just sorta is what it is though. And you're gonna see how much food I get when I snag the first fish."

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Hmmm... plum trees, huh?" Hirame tilted his head, considering. But right, what could they ship away from the Sparrow? "Nevermind." Hirame shook his head. Finding new trade routes was hard...

He laughed. "You're on... wait." He frowned at her. "Right, if you've never been ocean fishing... uh, keep an eye on your hook. If you see a shadow underneath it, pull it up right away." He shrugged. "Or just get ready to let go. That's the smart move."

[Suzume Rin]

"Hmmm... plum trees, huh?" Hirame tilted his head, considering. But right, what could they ship away from the Sparrow? "Nevermind." Hirame shook his head. Finding new trade routes was hard...

He laughed. "You're on... wait." He frowned at her. "Right, if you've never been ocean fishing... uh, keep an eye on your hook. If you see a shadow underneath it, pull it up right away." He shrugged. "Or just get ready to let go. That's the smart move."

"Let go? Not on yah life Hirame-sama. Something tries to take my rod and it's gonna come up on the deck."
Peering intently into the water
"Oh! Oh! I see a shadow! Is that one there? Oh he's heading for our lines too!"

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame laughed. "Yeah, okay. Just wait until you see the size of some of these things.,."

The smile became a frown, and then a deeper frown as he looked down at the shadow below the water, growing and shifting. "Uh... yeah... be careful, Rin-san. If one of the really big ones grabs hold, it can pull a person over easy as can be." His own hands tensed on the rod, ready to rapidly pull up the line. Or whatever else needed to be done.

[Suzume Rin]

Hirame laughed. "Yeah, okay. Just wait until you see the size of some of these things.,."

The smile became a frown, and then a deeper frown as he looked down at the shadow below the water, growing and shifting. "Uh... yeah... be careful, Rin-san. If one of the really big ones grabs hold, it can pull a person over easy as can be." His own hands tensed on the rod, ready to rapidly pull up the line. Or whatever else needed to be done.

"Right!"
Rin braces herself
"I'm reaDEEEEEE" As both Sparrow and line are yanked hard against the ship's railing as the shadow takes a violent interest in the bait.

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Whoa!" Hirame jerked his own line out of the water. "Hang on!"

He'd just been talking about the possibility of being pulled overboard. And how much did the Sparrow even weigh? Ninety pounds soaking wet? Which she would be if she got pulled overboard? Reaching out, Hirame grabbed the young woman with both hands, one foot coming up to brace against the railing. "Don't... die..." He grunted out unhelpfully between grit teeth; it didn't really suggest a course of action, after all.