(D3, EE) To the Tune of an Open Book (closed)

[Kuni Yasu]

Geisha allowed samurai to relax and set aside some of the emotional and social duties they bore. That would seem to imply that it was a space to be casual and relaxed. And to some extent it was.

However, anyone who had frequented the houses much knew that respecting the house and the talents within created a better experience, and made one more welcome upon return. So Yasu, who has spent her share of time in the local houses near home, wears her newest kimono, with it's striking fan pattern in deep blue, red, and white. Her hair, though, is gathered loosely at the back of her neck with a band silk woven with colorful and complex designs. It falls to the back of her knees, offering that bit of casual relaxation that fit the occasion.

Her face though, had been freshly painted before leaving the inn, the day's smudges erased. She'd requested only a single performer with the sake and small sweets one expected to find there. It was almost certain that she and her guest would have no trouble finding conversation without the aid of professionals.

[Susaki Tanabe]

Tanabe had intended to visit the Geisha house at some point but hadn't found the time as of yet. Emiko said it was fairly nice after she went with the Imperial boy. Tanabe had little in the way of fancy clothing so he arrived in blue kimono, a color in between the light powdery blue of the Crane and the dark navy of the Crab. It fit just a bit better than his brown one. His somewhat wild hair was also pulled back and tied with a ribbon to look more formal.

As he arrived and was directed to the room Yasu has gotten for the night and he entered with a bow to her "Good evening Yasu-san. You look great, I hope the day has found you well." He said smiling happily at her as his eyes moved over the kimono and examined the fresh face paint.

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu is conversing with their musician for the evening, his makeup as pale as hers, but overall quite a bit more subtle. She rises as Tanabe is shown in, her smile brightening even before taking in any details. "Thank you, Tanabe-san," she says, with a bow of her own before moving to the small table set out with the house's treats. "I'm actually enjoying the rain, so yes, I think the day's found me well." Rising from the bow, her eyes lift to his with a pleased smile. "And the evening is looking even better."

"I hope you've had a good day as well?" She asks, turning to move toward the little table. There's a formality to it all, resting just over the top of her sharp focus on the Otter. She takes a seat beside the table as the geisha tunes his shamisen.

[Susaki Tanabe]

He smiles and nods to the shamisen player but his true attention is on nothing but Yasu "Hai I love the rain!" He exclaims "makes the river swell so the ferries can really move and while it's a little dangerous, swimming while it's raining is very exciting." He explained as he followed her to the table.

"But today was certainly interesting kemari I a game I haven't played in a long while. It's more of a court game and us Otter don't go to too many courts honestly. I'm lucky I remembered how to play it at all." He explained with a general sense of mirth and happiness.

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu, feeling somewhat hostess like, pours the small cups of sake, sleeve held aside. "Exciting? In what way? Because of the higher water?" Her own attention is slightly at a tangent, imagining Tanabe moving through the river as she'd seen him in the pool the other night, a fond smile on her lips. "Seems like that would be a danger, yes?"

She holds one cup out to him, the small, finely-painted, clay even smaller in her large hand. "We play it, but less courtly. It's good practice for coordination, easy to have on hand anywhere, not too distracting. Imagine it's not a great game on a boat...*tap, tap, plip!*" The sound effects offer a rather clear expression of how she expects most such games on a boat would end...with the ball in the water.

[Susaki Tanabe]

He bows his head in thanks as she hands him the cup "Ah I always forget proper places have such small sake cups." He laughs "but yes when it rains steady for a time or coming down furiously it makes the water level rise and makes the river flow faster. Can be dangerous, one can be swept away or hit by debris but swimming against it is very exciting."

At her description he laughs a little loud but not obnoxiously so "Yes it is difficult on a boat. People have lost kemari balls this way. Though we have played a variation of it in the water similar game, keep the ball out of the water without using hands, mostly heads involved but skilled players can use legs and shoulders."

[Kuni Yasu]

"Aren't they? Maybe I should have just asked for two bottles to drink from." She makes no effort at all to avoid the small touches that come with passing such a tiny cup. After wrestling, it hardly seems improper, even if all the etiquette treatises would say so. She shakes her head, laughing. "I guess I don't really have to wonder if you've had a chance to measure your courage against something more than opponents in the wring and unruly drunks to dump in the river then. Dodging storm debris for the thrill..." There's a small shake of her head before she sips at the sake, eyebrows lifting to find that the house evidently carries a slightly nicer house sake than Uguisu's song."

"Have to be a really good swimmer to tranlate kemari to the water, I'd guess? You'll have to show me if we get a chance to swim."

[Susaki Tanabe]

The private room of a geisha house was no place for such treatsies though even if they were is wasn't like Tanabe was overly concerned about etiquette most of the time anyway. He took the cup and smiled softly at the little touches. "Well during a bad storm the river is death not even I'm crazy enough to try that. But a bit of rain? Maybe a small rainstorm? Much more likely. There is a bit of a sweet spot you have to hit between danger and challenge." He explained taking a sip of his own cup and nodding approvingly.

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu nods with a smile of her own. Courage, there are topics to touch on there, but...maybe not yet. "It was nice watching you play, by the way. Very different from watching while sparring, and having to focus on what's going on there, you know? Cute how they think kemari really says much about how well you can juggle anything else though. But it made me think, which was maybe the actual point of that little spiel." She sips at the small cup, planning to pour again soon.

Her smile softens as she looks from the cup cradled in her hands up to Tanabe."So...I'm opening the book a bit, I guess. You talked about what your parents do, but...what are they like? How do they treat each other?"

The shamisen transitions into an actual tune, and Yasu quiets a moment to listen, expecting her answer might wait a moment as well. She's asked the geisha if he knew any tunes common among the Otter, thinking that surely a clan of performers had developed some of their own pieces, and that another minor clan entertainer might have learned some of them. They had.

[Susaki Tanabe]

"I'm sure the deer know what they're doing. They are, after all, basically a clan of matchmakers. I'd bet they got all kinds of weird tests that seem strange but have some super deep hidden meaning." He said as he sipped the sake again.

He heardbher question and thought for a moment while the geisha played. His smile widened as he recognized the tune "my mother would play this one sometimes." He said softly after a while a content smile on his lips "she is a kind woman, quiet and a little reserved. She has a focus though when she is playing or when she is cooking something exciting. I get that from her, that focus in the face of a challenge." He explained his voice was softer than normal more restrain than his usual loud energetic manner.

"I take more after my father though he is, a lot like me but even louder, if you can imagine that." He says with an amused smile "but he is confident, strong, friendly, always tries to do the right thing, even when it could get him trouble or put him in danger."

Tanabe took a breath "they are an, unlikely pair but they work well. My mother is there to soften his bluntness, she brings him down when he gets too high. But he pulls her out of her shell, makes her excited for things and makes her laugh. Sure they occasionally butt heads, father says something too far or is too annoying while she is focusing or mother is too focused on things not their relationship and he feels neglected, or she doesn't trust him enough with decisions. They aren't perfect but they love eachother and do so fiercely, they balance each other out and make one another better people than they are separately." His smile is small and soft as he talks and as he finishes he looks up toeet her eyes the smile widening "I hope you realize now what I meant when I said an open book." He laughed "hope you're ready for all my long winded overly specific answers." He said in a more jovial manner.