[Day 0, Early Morning] What's This? (Open)

[Aimi]

"That is certainly one possible reason, Shiba-sama," Aimi says with a brief smile and a polite bow, "though I suspect it has more to do with the nature of my gifts than any great proficiency therein. I am a shugenja, and apparently such a thing is enough to outweigh all the, ah, other issues of note in the eyes of those who arrange the Miai."

She shakes her head ruefully. "And what of yourself? A bushi of the Phoenix, clearly, but one scarcely merits invitation to such an affair as this without some good qualities to their name."

[Shiba Raizo]

"I'm not rightly sure, to be honest. It's not as if the armies of the Phoenix are our chief claim to fame, and I'm no hero."

He shrugged, glanced uncomfortably from the ronin the Lion and back again.

"I think it's more to do with my family line's lack of heirs than anything in particular about me."

[Aimi]

Aimi clicks her tongue in disapproval.

"Ma, Shiba-sama, there is a line between humility and self-abasement," she says, looking at the Phoenix, "Nobody is sent to Kyuden Shika because they're a bad match. Maybe the Fortunes are kind, maybe they are cruel, but you defeat yourself if you walk through those gates thinking you have no worth."

[Shiba Raizo]

"All I can say is that I am completely mystified to have been invited."

A pause.

"I mean, I didn't even know there was a Deer Clan until I got my travel papers, so there's that."

[Kitsu Moshumaru]

"... exchange. Good to meet you, Aimi. I'm Shiba Raizo, and the charming gent with the literary bent is Kitsu Moshu, Moshumaru if you're talking to him where his superiors can hear you."

The Kitsu nodded at the introduction - it was a good manner of surmising the naming convention that surrounded him.

"I mean, I didn't even know there was a Deer Clan until I got my travel papers, so there's that."

"Speaking truthfully, neither did I until a scant few months ago, where I was sent to write on behalf of one Shika Hoboku-san. An Imperial Legionnaire who died protecting Imperial interests on the mainland."

[Agasha Inoshishi]

A short, thin woman clad in dusty dragon robes is nearby, poking through the many mushrooms growing in the forest, her deft fingers occasionally snatching one and other times pressing down on the dirt. She hums a song she learned from Lion heimin a few years ago, ears perking up as she hears samurai speaking.

Knowing that she is dusty and barely awake from her resting spot (yes, she slept in the forest yesterday, what of it? She likes the crisp morning air and the sounds of night as she falls asleep. It certainly has nothing to do with her terrible handling of money. And most assuredly isn't related to how quickly she left the last town.), Inoshishi settles against a tree, listening and quietly humming. She's making no attempt to conceal herself, but also doesn't wish to be rude and interrupt the flow of the conversation.

[Kitsu Moshumaru]

She hums a song she learned from Lion heimin a few years ago...

Wait a moment... that tune! It was an old military tune which had become more a worker's tune some 200 years ago - that probably meant there was another Lion around. But why communicate via whistle, if they knew their presence?

Slowly, Moshu began to whistle the other half of the tune, using it almost as a bat's echo to try and locate the other whistler.

Unfortunately for him, he was focused on looking for grounded visitors, rather than Aborebone ones.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Slowly, Moshu began to whistle the other half of the tune, using it almost as a bat's echo to try and locate the other whistler.

Hearing the whistling, Inoshishi shifts to whistling as well. She sticks her head out of the bushes she'd been rooting around in, smiling but dirty.

"Hello! Have you eaten rice? I have. Well, I haven't, but I've eaten mushrooms, and honestly, who doesn't love some mushrooms. I have more, if you want them. Do you like mushrooms? I mean, of course you do, you're whistling the song that I learned from Ishi in the Lion lands, and he taught me about it while we were foraging for mushrooms. So you must like mushrooms! Inoshishi! That's me, not a mushroom."

Clearly, she doesn't talk to people often enough, as the words tumble from her lips like a waterfall.

[Shiba Raizo]

Aha, something new has been added.

"Hello... Dragon-san. I'm Shiba Raizo. The musically-inclined fellow is Kitsu Moshumaru, and the charming lady is one Aimi."

[Kitsu Moshumaru]

The bushes! Turning to them, he spots a young Dr-

"Hello! Have you eaten rice? I have.

"I uh - no, I-"

Well, I haven't, but I've eaten mushrooms, and honestly, who doesn't love some mushrooms.

"Then why di-"

I have more, if you want them. Do you like mushrooms?

"Have you checked if th-"

I mean, of course you do, you're whistling the song that I learned from Ishi in the Lion lands

"Who is I-"

and he taught me about it while we were foraging for mushrooms. So you must like mushrooms!

"That's an old marching song, no-"

Inoshishi! That's me, not a mushroom.

"Why are you a Mush-" He paused to reflect on her sentence structure, successfully deducing she was not a mushroom.

Aha, something new has been added.

"Hello... Dragon-san. I'm Shiba Raizo. The musically-inclined fellow is Kitsu Moshumaru, and the charming lady is one Aimi."

As the flow of conversation returned to normal, Moshumaru appeared to calm - once he was out of the waterfall's tide.

As if nothing had happened, he ran a hand through his hair and returned to his normal demeanour.

"Indeed, Shiba-san speaks true. I believe you said your name was... Inoshishi-san, was it?"