Kyuden Shika

From his survey of the castle, Raizo had headed into the Nishimuki District... and straight into a place he found almost completely incomprehensible.

Oh, he'd seen markets before. Plenty of them, as he'd tramped from one end of the Phoenix lands to the other, and even a covert border crossing into Dragon provinces looking for... whatever it had been, they hadn't found it, but no matter.

But never had he seen a place so utterly devoted to, well...

Borderline useless crap.

And flitting about that useless crap, there she was: her face chalked white with bright red lips and eyeshadow the color of the sky at dawn. She balanced gingerly on a pair of tall sandals, all the better to keep the hems of all those orange and brown and yellow robes layered upon her - warming afternoon weather be damned - away from the street.

Her eyes were focused intently on the wares being hawked by a local paper-seller, lip twitching in thought. Looking up, she caught sight of Raizo.

"Oi! Hey, Phoenix-san!" She called to him in a husky voice. She wasn't shouting, but she could - and did - project. "You - ah - mind if I borrow you for a moment? Maybe get your opinion on something?"

A much less striking sight turned her attention to the Moshi behind her, and to the Phoenix near by. She wouldn’t interrupt, but seeing a Centipede was rare enough to catch her attention. For now, her eyes fell back to the inks and brushes she had been surveying.

Daichi was a fan of a nice brush. Made documentation so much easier if the brush wasn’t an absolute disaster, after all.

Moshi Shizuka wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:02 am

"Oi! Hey, Phoenix-san!" She called to him in a husky voice. She wasn't shouting, but she could - and did - project. "You - ah - mind if I borrow you for a moment? Maybe get your opinion on something?"

"Er... okay, uh..."

THINK, damn you... wait, Centipede! They used to be Phoenix!

"Moshi-san. Just bear in mind, I'm not a great judge of... fashion."

"Well, it's your lucky day and mine then, cause this isn't fashion!" Shizuka gestured broadly at the paper she was looking at. Mulberry pulp, a little bit off white in coloring, crisp, a bit stocky.

Smirking, she rested her hands on her hips. Or, rather, where her hips would be if there weren't an inordinate number of intervening layers of cloth in the way.

"So what do you think?"

Moshi Shizuka wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:43 am

"Well, it's your lucky day and mine then, cause this isn't fashion!" Shizuka gestured broadly at the paper she was looking at. Mulberry pulp, a little bit off white in coloring, crisp, a bit stocky.

Smirking, she rested her hands on her hips. Or, rather, where her hips would be if there weren't an inordinate number of intervening layers of cloth in the way.

"So what do you think?"

"..."

What in the actual fuck am I looking at when I'm not looking at the Moshi?

"I... think it may be your unlucky day, Moshi-san, because among my many areas of ignorance, you have managed to introduce me to a new one."

Switching between stalls with all the indecision of a common window shopper, the fellow market attendees caught her eye as a break to the nicknacks she had been perusing. Random assortments of completed goods made well enough gifts, but the unfinished worked as well.

Tomoe made her way over, but didn't move to interrupt. Her fellow Phoenix seemed confused enough being asked advice by the Moshi. She just joined the Crab in silent contemplation over fine inks.

"Hah!" Shizuka barked, giving something of a satisfied, playful smirk as she turned to the paper seller. "I'll take two dozen sheets of that. And a dozen of the bamboo paper too."

Turning back to Raizo, Shizuka finally bowed in greeting. "Sorry about that, Phoenix-san. I'm Moshi Shizuka. Please take good care of me." The recitation of the rather traditionally feminine introduction might have been a little late, but hey it was all there, even if the delivery was rather rote and the tone less wilting-Crane-maiden and more...bombastic.

"I needed a first impression on the papers I was going to use for letters other, you know, paper stuff for this miai. You weren't immediately repulsed by my taste, so I'm taking that as a good sign!"

“Looking for anything in particular?” Daichi finally spoke, her eyes settling on the Phoenix next to her. “Or just browsing?”

The Crab appeared to be a bit tired from the look of her eyes, but she kept a friendly air about her despite that.

Hida Daichi wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:17 am

“Looking for anything in particular?” Daichi finally spoke, her eyes settling on the Phoenix next to her. “Or just browsing?”

The Crab appeared to be a bit tired from the look of her eyes, but she kept a friendly air about her despite that.

"Mostly browsing, Crab-san." Tomoe's response is said with a smile that is a bit too wide for her narrow face. "I'm in the market for some variety of gift, but aren't certain of what to look for. If you've any recommendations over the selection here, I'd be in the market for that too."

She made a slight laugh at her statement's end.