(D7 MA) Swim Lessons

[Susaki Tanabe]

Tanabe stops and turns to Yasu letting things fall so that her hands were in his "Su-chan, you don't need to worry. Sure I didn't meet you with your mask, do you truly worry such a thing, fearsome as it is, would have scared me away. Do you think so little of my courage?" He remarks in warm and teasing tones toward the end.

He leans in and kisses her cheek softly only mildly disturbing the mask "I love you Yasu, my parents will see what I see. You don't need to worry so much." He places a hand on beer chest over her heart "They will see the strong, beautiful, kind soul that has brightened my life." He says as he leans in and kisses her fully on the lips, kissing her deeply and pulling away with a smile "They will love you."

[Kuni Yasu]

She leans happily into that kiss, following slightly as he pulls back, her fond smile matching his. "Worry is what Kuni train for, though, love." Her hand comes up to cup his cheek, thumb brushing at the red paint transferred to his lips. "But I'll at least leave this one until we're about to meet them."

She lets her other hand drift to his waist, pulling him a bit closer. "I never doubt your courage, Tana-kun. I guess I wonder if you'd have seen a reason to look past the mask at all though? I haven't even spoken to maybe half of the folks we saw on the stage today. Might not have taken all that much for us to have been strangers, instead of finding this love. Deer magic, I guess?" Grinning, she presses up to kiss him again with a happy sigh before dropping back on her heels.

"'But..." she offers a lopsided smile as she runs a hand back through his hair, "we're never getting to the water at this rate. Looking forward to you having more than a pool to show off in. I'd race you, but I don't know where we're going, so that'd get kind of hilarious with me in the lead."

[Susaki Tanabe]

Accepting the second kiss easily as their bodies pressed together a little he grinned as they separated "many more of those we may end up praying instead of swimming." He said teasingly.

"I cannot fault you your worry. You are taught to scrutinize and analyze. I grow up in a more relaxed go with the flow philosophy. I have had few things I truly fret over, Usogawa-sama's clumsiness being one." He squeezed her hand gently "and how this will work out being the other." He said with a smile.

He did continue down the trail toward the river he glanced to her grinning "that of course is assuming you would be in the lead." His tone alone implying a stuck out tongue in his words.

[Kuni Yasu]

"I'm sure we could manage a bit of both, love" she says with a grin. "But...I'm not sure I want to be praying on the riverbanks as a Deer patrol happens to come by. Don't need to share that sort of prayer with everyone!"

Following down the trail, her hand tucked into his, she agrees quite readily with his teasing,"maybe a bold assumption, yes. I'm the mountain to your river, and the rivers are certainly faster. But sometimes rockfalls happen."

"How early do kids learn to swim among the Otter? I assume you're not just tossing infants in and keeping the ones as manage to keep their heads up." Yes, there's the darker side of Kuni humor.

[Susaki Tanabe]

"Surely they would be too stunned by the beautiful sight of you to be able to do anything about it." He said chuckling warmly.

At her question he shrugged not obviously bothered by the dark humor "Well we throw them in when they are young to see how their instincts are. Important to know which kids need extra watching. They are usually able to float by the time they reach their first year and can actually swim by their third year."

The river was close by as the faint sound of running water could be heard not too far from their position.

[Kuni Yasu]

She shakes her head at the idea of babies swimming so early. Given that she could float and barely paddle a bit it seemed absurd. "I didn't think you actually did toss them in so young!" she laughs.

Hearing the water, she gets a mischievous look, her off-hand gathering up a bit of the fabric of her kimono as she brings their joined hands to her lips for a kiss, looking up to him with laughing eyes before letting go to take off down the path. She hikes up the sturdy fabric to keep it from tangling her ankles, but knows full well that she's not the fastest runner. But winning isn't really the point on a sunny day in this beautiful place, with the man she loves.

"And sometimes rocks just throw themselves at the river, you know?!" She calls back, voice taunting.

[Susaki Tanabe]

He laughed heartily, a bellowing sound of unrestrained joy as he watched her run through the woods and he did watch for a second with such a wide, happy smile. His eyes painting a picture in his mind to not forget this moment sunlight filtering through branches as he watched his love run through the trees.

But he soon snapped out of it and took off after her, his own kimono not long enough to tangle his legs too badly but his laughter making it hard to breath efficiently enough for sprinting.

She would break through the trees to the river bank first the water higher than average but not rushing dangerously as it would have days before. He came from right behind her and scooped her up in his large arms "such mischief! I might think you a Kawauso sent from Sakkaku!" He said as he spun with her cradled in his arms his features bright and twinkling with merriment.

[Kuni Yasu]

She throws her arms around his neck, laughing unabashedly before kissing him soundly, with no thought as to her makeup. "You won't think that once I'm in the water. I'd be the clumsiest Kawauso around." Holding his face in her hands she just looks at him for a long moment, absorbed in their joy.

"But you need to set me down sometime so I can wash this off properly before going into the water. It's resistant, but full on swimming for a while? It won't survive that."

[Susaki Tanabe]

He laughed again at her response "Perhaps that is true, or perhaps you just wish me to think that so you can play some playful trick on me." he said his smile undiminished as he fulfilled her request and allowed her feet to touch soft ground once again.

"Fine, I suppose we can do the lesson without you looking like your face is melting." he said with a good humored grin ashe pulled the strings on his kimono to begin disrobing.

[Kuni Yasu]

She's slow to let him go, even on solid ground "Do I need to be a spirit to play tricks on my beloved?" she teases. But she does let him go eventually, carefully disrobing down to her fundoshi, settling her scroll case and small weapons neatly beside her clothing. While she might have enjoyed watching Tanabe do the same, she's rather focused on the careful motions of her own process just now. The scroll case is opened just long enough to remove a small cloth and a tin of some pungent cream.

With those in hand, she moves to the edge of the water, breathing deeply and trying to look, listen, and simply feel carefully all around for the presence of unfriendly spirits before kneeling. There is something ritualistic to the way the cream is dabbed on her face and rubbed into the paint with small, circular motions, leaving that baleful third eye for last. Dipping the cloth into the water, she lifts and wrings it out a bit before scrubbing at her face, taking quite a lot of the paint off. She rinses it thoroughly and repeats the process, then one more time to finish before bowing to the water from her seated position and quietly thanking it for the assistance. It feels very vulnerable to be out here without her mask.

Every day would be like that if she married out, she supposed. But the thought is tucked away before she stands and turns to Tanabe. "I'd like to give you something," she says, as she looks up at him, face reddened with scrubbing, and very pale in the sunlight.