(D7, LA) Meditations on Marriage

[Kuni Yasu]

"Thank you. I appreciate..." she pauses, not sure what words makes sense there. A small, embarrassed smile accompanies a vague flutter of her hands, "your help and understanding and...all of it."

Yasu doesn't really pretend that she feels nothing, so much as breathe and gently acknowledge inside herself that she won't feed that little fire. Not when she's seen the hurt in Tanabe's eyes of even acknowledging this much aloud. "It's true, everyone's families are a bit strange when you're not part of them. I'm not sure what most would make of mine, and I can only dimly imagine the family that produced Ishioka-san."

[Kitsu Murato]

"What is your family like then?" he asks, curious. "As in your family, not the Kuni in general. Do you have many siblings?"

[Kuni Yasu]

It isn't as if she were exactly tense before, just that normal bit of guardedness that samurai tend to have. That eases as she thinks of her family, nodding. "Eldest of seven. My baby sister is only 5 and was a bit of a surprise," she smiles fondly, thinking of the sounds of them echoing off the stone walls as children. "It's a little rough for her since we're all grown or off training. At least she has the kami keeping her company."

"Ah, but overall? My moms were a political match, though it's obvious they're fond of each other. My consort father comes as a match of desire, as much as anything, and the other is obviously a love match. I take after my dad quite a bit. It's lively and a little too crowded when everyone is there. Crab humor trends dark, but there's a lot of it." Her hands are animated as she talks, as lively as her family sounds.

"And you? Other than intense, what has your family been like?"

[Kitsu Murato]

"It was purely a political match, and I've recently come to understand that they probably don't much like each other. I am probably a child of duty, and an only child, kind of. I've got 3 cousins that live with us, all younger, their parents passed. Assuming I am still a Lion after being matched, I'll be moving into my own household and taking one of my cousins with," he explained.

"But I want a big family personally. I loved seeing bigger families with lots of kids."

[Kuni Yasu]

"Seems a rather small interpretation of that duty to decide one and done was sufficient." Yasu shakes her head slightly. "I don't know...I think I'd endure a husband I wasn't so fond of for children. That's certainly less trouble than many other duties and they'd be a comfort in that sort of arrangement. Or at least for me it would be."

She offers a smile, "I hope you'll have that for yourself then."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Well, honestly, I suspect it will not be quite as large as I wish. But there is always adoption and caring for orphans. Family is not always blood," he says with a smile. "But you would know that with so many parents. The question of blood and family is likely no concern to you."

[Kuni Yasu]

"Actual bloodlines don't matter much, no. Adoption covers the spiritual and legal side, and that's all that really matters," she says with a nod. "I understand the Kitsu are a bit more fussy about actual bloodlines, yes? The Crab tend to encourage large families, and adoption's not uncommon." She looks at him a bit curiously, "how large were you hoping for that you think you're unlikely to reach that goal?

[Kitsu Murato]

"Yeah, we track such things pretty strenuously. I can trace my family line back to the last Kitsu and to Otomo-no-shiryo. But honestly... it doesn't matter to me personally. Just something for the Deer to take into consideration," he says with shrug.

"And the number I quoted was a dozen," he says with a chuckle. "Not really fair number for some of the female candidates here. I can't imagine the kind of burden that would place on a woman."

[Kuni Yasu]

Painted brows lift with a surprised laugh. "Hoo...Yeah, that's a lot for one woman to bear. I'm built for it and...even with Kisshoten's blessing in hand, I don't think that's particularly likely without a lot of twins showing up. That'd wear anyone out."

"More manageable if there's a concubine in your plans. I mean, with that kind of ancestry, you could probably negotiate one later." Yasu considers that a moment. After all, her training in hunting out maho includes things like looking into the jealous interactions of spouses/consorts/concubines for passions that have tempted others to reach for darker powers in the past. So obviously those arrangements can be complicated. "Though I guess that kind of thing doesn't always work out well."

[Kitsu Murato]

He nods at that with a small smile. "Yeah. Perhaps some adoptions. The sad truth is that the Lion nearly always have war orphans. As I said, my parents did that at least," he said with a nod.

"Although, I don't know about the idea of a concubine or consort," he says with a sad smile. "I mean... with how things happened with you and I... I suspect that adding less standard arrangements might not exactly work well." He didn't know how to clearly communicate what he was feeling about that. It just came out as an odd jumble.