[D3, LE] Days that call for a night cap

[Matsu Ishioka]

Mitsuki, a bit slow on the draw due to the alcohol, eventually realized the Kaito had left... And her clouded mind just ignored her responsibility in it.

"Did you guys seriously make the shrine maiden flee? That's not nice of you. As a shaman apprentice, I'm basically a shrine maiden myself. Maybe I should also leave you alone in solidarity?"

Ishioka had noticed the departure and realized it troubled him. But that was behind the Stone Matsu facade. Outwardly he looked at the Unicorn and said, "Is that what Moto-san wishes? I think I would like to hear more of your stories, if you care to share."

He takes another drink, a small one, and glances around subtly to see if the Tortoise had found other entertainment.

[Moto Mitsuki]

"Another story uh? Well, you're a commander yourself if I recall correctly. So a commander story...

It was a routine mission. Five riders pursuing a couple of fugitives through the desert. Nothing special, we eventually caught up to them, there was an expeditious fight, we won without ever really being in danger.

Everything would have been fine if not for the fact a lucky shot had managed to pierce our main remaining reserve of water. Not all eggs were in one basket, we had individual gourds and all, but to catch up with our preys we hadn't taken a break to recharge in some time, and so that loss kicked us down from 'just fine' to 'dangerously low'.

We thought we could compensate with the fuckers' own reserves, but they were close to empty. Ironically, if we had not pursued, the desert would have disposed of them with the same efficiency as our blades.

So, it was rationing time. And you know how it is, as a commandant, you must make sure shares are fair and be doubly exemplary. So I had not a drop more than any of my soldiers. I had less than them actually, having blatantly rounded down my own share in my disfavor to make it clear there would be no favoritism.

And when I say share, you'll have to understand most of it was for our horses really. They needed it or we wouldn't make it out of the deep desert alive.

Ever suffered from advanced dehydration? It's just the worst. Your body is basically screaming for water all the time. Your senses go crazy, all of them. You can barely see, hear, and it was one of the few times in my life I almost fell down from my horse just because my balance was disturbed so much.

And as a leader, you cannot just go almost comatose on your horse and let it go, hoping it will manage to bring you somewhere. No, you have to make sure none of the people you are responsible for crack and start drinking the share of their horse, or on the contrary forget to hydrate them.

So you fight yourself to stay conscious and focused for hours under the heartless sun, and sometimes you even have to shout an order with your croaked voice."

She paused, looking at her reflection in the alcohol at the bottom of her cup:

"This is a story I know the epilogue of but not the ending. My memories return a few days later, after a good rest in a friendly encampment. The last day of the trip must have happened, and I must have done my duty until the end as we all lived. But exactly what happened, only the desert knows. Dried-up brains make for poor memorization, even of the important things."

[Matsu Ishioka]

While a typical samurai might look horrified, or at least have eyes wide with disbelief, the Stone Matsu had nodded along with the story, simply raising his eyebrows gently to reflect the seriousness of the story. At the end, he suggests, "A toast to Moto Mitsuki-sama," loud enough for all to hear if they're not engrossed in their own matters. "To her glorious leadership and her endurance," he says with a touch of admiration, gave only slightly warmer as he looked at her than was usual for him.

[Moto Mitsuki]

She raised her cup and added:

"To do what we must do, whatever the cost! Such is the samurai's life."

She nodded to herself over this sentence so generic everyone could interpret it in a way that would please them.

"Why don't you tell us a story of your own Matsu-sama? My voice could use a break."

[Matsu Ishioka]

"Mmm, as you wish, Moto-san," the Lion agrees. "This one is a simple embassy guard, so I have no stories to compete with daring rides across vast desert and such. Instead, let me tell you of an assignment escorting two diplomats, courtiers of my clan, on a fact-finding mission to the Kaiu Kabe, the great Carpenter Wall near Kyuden Hida. Sanctioned by the Crab Clan and with a Hida veteran as our guide, it seemed an unremarkable assignment -- really just an ego boost for one of the courtiers to have an honor guard from his own clan accompanying this mission."

"I and two of my soldiers trailed those courtiers through the entire, elaborate tour of Crab facilities around the Wall. By the time we got to the last, grudgingly approved part of the agenda, a view from atop the wall, my soldiers and I were pretty tired of getting dirty looks from the defenders of the wall for our pristine armor and equipment. But it seemed a pleasant enough day, with good visibility, so a view from the top of the wall sounded inspiring. The Kaiu Wall is just a remarkable feat of engineering. Anyway, we reached the top and, true to form, these courtiers want to see everything they can, so they are eager to get right up to the battlements."

"That was when the clear day started shifting toward fog all of a sudden -- and I still don't know how this happened -- but in an explosion of activity, there were Crab with weapons drawn and battling these little..." He slows to choose his terminology carefully when discussing sensitive topics in the heart of the empire. "A swarm of creatures had flown or climbed up the wall to come straight into battle on this section of wall where we'd stopped. The reaction of the Crab defenders was like lightning striking: weapons drawn and immediately bearing down on this assault. We had to put the courtiers behind us, pressing them almost flat against the side wall of a tower, with our three blades ready to repel attackers. The Crab -- including our guide -- never hesitated and seemed to work like clockwork in responding. Their level of preparedness is remarkable. But the swarm was not easily driven off, and in the time before another squad of Crab arrived to clear that wall section, we lost our guide, one of my soldiers, and one of the diplomats -- the one, it happens, who had been so motivated to see the wall up close. It turned out to be good fortune that his vanity brought a few of us along as escort, even though we weren't enough to save him in the end."

Ishioka raises his cup. "There's a moral in there somewhere. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but... it's gotta be there."