(D6, MA, baths) Water outside, water inside

[Kuni Yasu]

(Expecting but public space)

It was so calming, the endless sound of rain on the roof and leaves outside. Face cleared of paint for this short time, long hair coiled and wound high on her head, Yasu relaxed, arms spread along the stone edges of the pool. The upper edge of the tattoo beneath her breastbone could be seen above the water, everything below distorted in the soft ripples that ran across the pool's surface as a slow single drop fell every so often from what must be a minor leak above.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi pads out to the pools, not being precisely quiet, but not being unnecessarily loud. Seeing a quietly relaxing samurai, she briefly reminisces about another pool, a long time ago, when she surprised her ‘courtly courtesies’ sensei with an impromptu demonstration of the concept of ‘plunging fire’. Good times, unlikely to be repeated, but good times.

As she slides into the water, she recognizes something about the luxuriating samurai, but can’t quite place her. Something is…off.

She whistles tunelessly, barely loud enough to be heard over the water. Not precisely a scritch on a shoji screen, by it would have to do.

[Kuni Yasu]

Not that the whistling was entirely needed, Yasu was alert to the padding of bare feet and the slap-splash of disturbed water. Her eyes open, dark and seeming a bit sunken in a face that seems unusually pale compared to sun-kissed throat and arms. A small crease forms in the middle of her forehead as bits of familiarity reach into memory.

"Agasha? -san? is it?" Her voice might add another piece to the puzzle the Dragon was pondering.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

At the voice, Inoshishi starts slightly, having not expected to recognize it. It still takes her a moment to put together who is speaking with her memory of the painted Kuni.

"Yes? Are there that few whistlers here? Well, I guess I don't hear anyone else whistling. Sensei always said it was one of my less becoming habits, but better than putting a bell on me. Wait, Kuni-san? I didn't recognize you without your...face! It's so good to see you, I knew you were here somewhere!"

[Kuni Yasu]

"Hmm? Oh, no, recognized your face, though you gained some weight, yeah?" Yasu's a bit bothered to realize she hadn't put the name together with the Dragon's short visit when Ishioka had mentioned her. Ah well, it's not like she'd have had any new insights to share from that realization.

She smiles a bit. "Baths and bed are really the only times it's removed, but good, if you didn't recognize me, the spirits should have trouble too. How has your miai been going, Agasha-san?"

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi smiles. “Can you tell? Yay! I’m afraid I’ve been just skin and bones for far too long. Perhaps I’ll even be able to retain this after. Makes me look…better.”

She looks at her arms, still pleasantly surprised to see they’re more than twigs. As the Kuni keeps talking she frowns slightly.

“Why would you want the spirits to have a hard time knowing you? Wouldn’t that make it harder to hear your prayers?”

At the last question, she pinks a little, despite the warm water.

“Well, if my colors don’t change, I at least have a rather large number of stories to bring home. But we shall see…I have hopes, stoney, wonderful, golden brown and warm hopes. How about you?”

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu hadn't really considered the extra weight good or bad, some folks just always looked cadaverous, in her experience. Maybe that was just overfocused Kuni? But the question about spirits deserved an answer.

"I can call up the elemental spirits without them knowing me personally and the Fortunes see more than faces. But the darker things we deal with? Yeah, I'd prefer they don't recognize me. They can see, and fear, the masks we wear instead." It's said with all seriousness, but her smile is still friendly.

It broadens with the description of a certain Lion. "Matsu-san'd be a good match, and spoke kindly of you. I think he's finding there are a few who tug at his heart, but that's a common trouble here."

There's a quiet happiness to her as she continues, "I've been luckier than I could have hoped. My heart's settled and there are several I would be happy to find myself matched with if my future can't include him."

[Agasha Inoshishi]

"Oh, interesting! Will you tell me more about the darker things you deal with some time? Not like, information, but...you know, stories!" Her eyes shine bright at the mention of a story.

At the mention of Matsu-san so precisely, she blushes again, the pink reaching the tips of her ears. Interestingly, there's no sign of any jealousy or even worry, really, at the mention of others that are in his heart.

"Oh, are you not hopeful they will place you elsewhere, so you may have the sort of romance that is spoken of long after your wheel has turned? It must be glorious to be in one of those famous romances, torn between love and duty. If you both loved your husband and were married to him, I'd think it might get, well, old after awhile. Plus, being coldly formal with a husband you love seems less interesting as well. At least from the story tellers perspective."

She submerges herself under the water for a moment, resisting the urge to poke the Kuni and see what happens. Breaking the surface of the water with a flip of her hair, she continues, "I know not everyone wants a tragic romance, but it seems so right to me. Will you be changing your colors for this mystery heart, or will they be changing theirs? If you change yours, would you still wear your facepaint? I'm fairly certain my colors will shift. Although, if a certain dear Shika" (yes, her humor hasn't changed. Still puns all the way down) "is selected, I suppose they may not. Do you think the Deer know to check the breathing abilities of anyone they pair with the Dragon?"

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu nods with a small smile. "Of course, we hold almost no secrets as far as sharing what we know of those sorts of things."

She waits through the long recitation with a quietly raised eyebrow and amusement. "I don't want to be in a story, no. I want happiness when I can have it, and the strength to fight the corruption that threatens as long as I'm able. There's strength in a harmonious match. Strife detracts from focus. Lack of focus makes mistakes you can't afford."

Shifting to bring her arms down from the edge of the pool, she rolls her shoulders, sinking lower to let the heat into them with a pleased sigh. "The other matches I wouldn't mind aren't tragic. They're ones I could see love growing from. Easily. Can't see why anyone would want a tragic match. What a thing to wake to each morning." She sucks her teeth, nose wrinkled a bit in distaste at the thought. "The whole reason people trust the Shika with their matchmaking is their reputation for more pleasant matches."

A fond smile lights her face as she shifts to talk about Tanabe. "He's an Otter...the one I'm hoping for, that is, and would likely join the Kuni since I don't want to leave." she shakes her head, voice calm with conviction. "I don't think it's in the Empire's interests to move me from that fight and I'll do what I can to stay."

"But," a crease forms in the middle of her fore head as she puzzles through the last bit. "Why would breathing be something to check if you're joining the Dragon.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi listens, a polite but thoroughly uncomprehending smile on her lips. Her general demeanor of absent-mindedness helps her in moments like these, as no one anticipates that she’ll understand. Of course, the Kuni likely remembers this act from the last time the Dragon came searching for loose tongues and new stories.

As the Kuni switches to feelings and her preferences, the smile shifts slightly as she gets back to territory she understands.

“Oh, I’ve seen the two of you, occasionally. You are Otterly cute! I Kuni see the two of you together on the Wall, his big teeth bared and the wooden goblins shrieking!”

First, the puns. Apparently Inoshishi shouldn’t be left alone with language. Second, she seems to have Otters confused with beavers? And Third, Inoshishi has made a tactical error, her own giggling at her punning sending her floating a little too close to the Kuni. An outstretched arm could dunk her easily. If somethings not done about her, she’ll keep giggling till it’s hard to breathe.