Kyuden Shika

Asahina Bo wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 19, 2021 2:43 am

"Oh." A very, very long pause for processing as a beleaguered squirrel runs as fast as it has ever run before in its wheel, "Ohhhhhh! I mean, yeah, that'd be nice... real nice. But wouldn't you haveta join the Crane if that happened?"

Matsu Ishioka wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 19, 2021 1:24 am

"I have, although it was somewhat briefly," he says, looking thoughtful. "She struck me as a thoughtful and energetic samurai... pleasing to look upon as well, I won't deny, and... Ahem. An intense spirit, Kitsu-san, as though the light of Lady Amaterasu herself is powering her. She was... quite appealing in my estimation. And I did not think to pursue her myself only because she seemed such a strong potential match for you, Kitsu-san."

Kuni Yasu wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 19, 2021 4:12 am

I love Ishi talking up our Moshi evangelist here.

Matsu Ishioka wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 19, 2021 1:24 am

"I have, although it was somewhat briefly," he says, looking thoughtful. "She struck me as a thoughtful and energetic samurai... pleasing to look upon as well, I won't deny, and... Ahem. An intense spirit, Kitsu-san, as though the light of Lady Amaterasu herself is powering her. She was... quite appealing in my estimation. And I did not think to pursue her myself only because she seemed such a strong potential match for you, Kitsu-san."

Why yes, I'm looping through a few things between posts.

Kitsu Moshumaru wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 21, 2021 9:23 pm

[...]
The Kitsu looked confused.

"What? But Soyokaze-san is as far from a mountain as one could find. Granted I respect him greatly, but he is more akin to the blade than a mountain - forged through fire, framed to be besides somebody and someone who supports your side, not someone to lean on."

He may have been off, but he didn't seem to realize it yet.

Kaikoga Koi wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:23 pm

Just Inoshishi.

She is an experience every time.

Kaikoga Koi wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:23 pm

Just Inoshishi.

She is an experience every time.

Aimi wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 25, 2021 2:40 pm

"...love, huh."

It's... actually kind of strange. She'd known, on some level, what it was she was feeling, what it was that was drawing Raizo to her. She was hardly a novice in the field, far from it, she'd loved and lost before, but somehow if she'd just pretended that it was something else, if she'd veiled it in words like 'affection' and phrases such as 'developing feelings' it would be easier to handle, easier to deny. And yet it wasn't. She'd been a fool, but there was still time.

He loved her. She loved him. And that meant... that meant she had to tell him, didn't it? Before he committed, before any chance to walk this back left them, before he got hurt because of her secrets. She had to.

"I... I have to tell you something," Aimi says in a hoarse voice, enjoying the feeling of her love's hands on her shoulders, of the kind of closeness that only this privacy allows. "I... I wasn't born a samurai."

She swallows, trembles, does not look back at him. She just keeps staring at the far wall.

"When the kami started speaking to me, I was terrified. It didn't make sense. The kami didn't speak to... to people like me, they spoke to lords and ladies, to samurai and monks," she says softly, "So I thought... I must be one, mustn't I? Someone important. Someone more than I thought I was. So I ran, and I changed my name, and I started calling myself a ronin."

She laughs, briefly, at her own foolishness. "I thought it would be that easy. For most people, it was. But if I'm to leave this miai a married woman, if I'm to become part of a clan, I... I can't start that life with a lie. I can't."

"I can't do that to you."