Kyuden Shika

(Expecting but public)

Tanabe returned from the woods with Yasu and had gone to get a fresh change of clothes. Now he wandered through the market. He had been here over a week and had yet to find purpose to come here.

A new place could be interesting though. New places meant new possibilities and new possibilities were always an interesting thing.

So for now the large Otter wandered the stalls and stores of artisans selling their wares. He looked curiously at a few things but never with more than passing interest.

After the curious encountersthat made up her morning Luixian had decided to come to the market. Shopping wasn't something that the Scorpion did very often but she needed a few things and rather than have some Deer servant get them she did it herself.

The tall woman weaved through the crowd with some skill as she searched for whatever she was needing. Yet the odd thing was the, comparatively, miniscule quail that sitting on her shoulder.

Yet there were only so many giants in the world and so when she noticed the other one in the market today she stopped. The three-eyed oni mask peered over towards him before finally nodding in a far away greeting to allow him to move on or converse depending on what he wanted.

Tanabe noted the large scorpion not only because it was rare to find others that neared his height, but also because he had never met a scorpion that was.

He saw the nod and returned it. He deliberated for only a moment before drifting over to them.

He approached with a characteristic smile as he gave the scorpion a bow that was likely not shallow enough to be proper but seemed to mean no deliberate offense.

"Hello Bayushi-sama! How are you? I have not noticed you around since my first night here." He of course would not forget such a unique individual.

Luixian returned with a bow that mirrored his own as she did what he did. Before she did so she grabbed the quail off of her shoulder so it wouldn't fall and once she stood up again she set it back.

"The day has found me alive." She answered with a snort. "Haven't been around to be seen but how have you been? Drinking more people under the table?"

While speaking she jerked her head to an empty corner of the market so the two giants wouldn't congest the pathway and then made her way over to it.

He followed to the out of the way corner and nodded "Hai! Well almost, there was a drinking contest just last night and I held up well enough matching the Crab and the giant Crane in number but a ronin girl came in and out drank the lot of us." He said with a jovial tone that reflected no resentment over the situation.

He dropped his voice low "though between you and me something fishy going on with it though. Girl was small and I know ronin can hold their drink but I've been known to drink Crab under the table. Just curious she would be the one to out drink everyone." He leaned back smiling "guess you can't judge on appearances."

"Otherwise things have been going well, been spending most my time with the lovely Kuni woman I performed with this morning. Hoping for a match there but." He shrugged a little "Not a decision I get to make."

As he spoke she leaned against the wall of one of the slightly sturdier stalls around. Her head cocked to the side in a motion of disbelief at the story.

"Isn't there a spell that allows a shugenja to get rid of alcohol intoxication? Originally supposed to be used to rid toxins from the body but has uses in removing and curing the effects of alcohol and even hangovers. Think it might actually just stop somebody from getting intoxicated too." When she had said that she shrugged.

"But I'm no shugenja so I can't say for certain. Just something to think about." Far be it from the Scorpion to not try and stir up a bit of trouble for fun. "Hope you get lucky with the chick though."

Tanabe shrugs again, he has a casual air about him but one could likely detect an undertone of tension if they were observant of such things "Out of my hands that, everyone just says to trust the matchmakers so thats what I'll have to do."

"But enough of possibilities and luck and cheaters." He said with a large smile "what about you Bayushi-sama? How have you been spending your days and nights?"

"It's not like we've got much of a choice other than to trust the matchmakers." She lifted up a hand and rubbed under Quail's chin. "Strangers we've never met yet control our future." However she wasn't observant enough to notice the tension or she just didn't say anything about it.

"What of me? Training and drinking. Got nothing better to do or at least nothing better to do those last few days while I laid low." She seemed a bit too smug at those last few words of hers.

The big Otter just nodded to the first part of her words, she had voiced a sentiment he had felt many times himself.

"Ah those are two of my favorite activities! Perhaps we should meet up to spar sometime. You don't happen to be proficient in unarmed combat eh? You seem like you could give me a run for my koku if you were." He said appreciating her size.

"I'm not too proficient in it actually. My skills lie with the tetsubo and such weapons like that. I know some of unarmed but not much. Enough to throw a punch in a sake house brawl." She snorted. "All I've ever needed and it's gotten me far. Not like I'm throwing people into rivers or such."