(D0 EA) A deer garden

[Usogawa Emiko]

"Mantis vessels this far inland would be stuck very quickly" Emiko nodded "more likely you'd come across small ones like the Otter use. They're quite long, designed to be like homes, not surprising as we Otter live in them. The bigger the yakatabune the more important the person."

[Kitsu Murato]

"So do the leaders of the Otter have more difficulty with bigger homes on smaller rivers then?" He seemed curious about that idea.

[Usogawa Emiko]

Emiko shook her head.

"Not really, even the biggest yakatabune are still relatively well sized with ease of being able to travel. Plus the Otter have become very good at maneuvering the yakatabune. It's quite fun to do as well, even I've lead a ship or two. Not too often though, I'm still quite young and need more practice with keeping them straight and not falling overboard."

[Kitsu Murato]

Smiling, he nods. "Well, at least you can swim well if it comes to that. So the otter eat a lot of river fish then, I would guess?"

[Usogawa Emiko]

"Hai. I'm not the best at fishing but I do ok, we've got some very good fishermen and women in the clan though that can catch a lot of fish. I'm more the entertainment I think" she chuckled "or potential fish bait."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Oh? So your family sends you to help catch both fish and suitors?" he asks with a smirk. "Well I imagine that the fish must find you beautiful as well," he says, suggesting that they were not the only ones.

[Usogawa Emiko]

That made Emiko laugh.

"Hai! Or perhaps a suitor that can fish? Would be two koi with one bait then, ne?" She looked down at her hands at the compliment though, adding "we'll see I suppose. I wouldn't say I'm that pretty compared to others here."

[Kitsu Murato]

He looks around them, confused, then points at himself.

"I'm the only other person here," he says intentionally misinterpreting what she meant by 'here'. "You think I'm that pretty? I don't even have any makeup on."

He smiles mischievously. "But I hope you don't mind if I disagree with you on that account. You'll just have to trust my judgement that you are much prettier than I am."

[Usogawa Emiko]

Emiko smiled slightly shyly.

"Hai, thank you Kitsu-sama. I'll remember your compliment."

She took a few moments before looking back at the man and smiling a little more.

"Thank you for a lovely afternoon, however I should take my leave."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Of course, I would not wish to keep you from exploration of the grounds, or preparation for the official start of the miai," he says with a nod.