Early lunch (day 1 late morning)

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

Moto Baatar sat on a garden bench enjoying an early lunch. A small white dog sat at his feet, wagging its tail excitedly. Court was scheduled for the afternoon, and from the vast experience he had gathered from all the tedious courts the young Unicorn had attended so far, it would be critical to have a full belly before court began.

From time to time Baatar would toss a rice ball in the little dog's direction, and she would snatch it out of the air with a practiced motion, gulping it down in one bite.

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

Slightly oblivious to the Moto on the bench, a young samurai wanders into the garden and draws his wakizashi. He begins going through elaborate maneuvers that could best be described as theatrically over the top, all while occasionally looking up to the sky.

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

"Eh?" The Moto glanced over at the Phoenix waving around his sword. "Are we under attack? By.... birds?" Baatar stood up and looked at the sky to try and see what Isawa Somgai was looking at.

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

Somgai jumped into the air at Baatar's words almost too fast to believe.

"Oh! Samurai...sama. I did not notice you there." He laughs easily. "I did not mean to startle you. Have you not heard the legends of this place? I was looking for the kenku!"

He waves his small blade at the sky with a smirk.

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

"The kenku!" Baatar repeated, his eyes growing wide. "I had heard something about it.... don't you have to do something to impress it, so that it will take you as a student? Is that right?"

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

"Yes!!!" Somgai seems legitimately excited. "Who doesn't want to learn the sword from a kenku?!? Talk about exciting!"

Somgai is grinning ear to ear.

"What do you think? Was I impressive, or do I need to keep trying?"

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

Baatar looked the Phoenix up and down. "Needs work," he said judiciously. "But, don't worry. I will assist you!"

The young Unicorn drew a wickedly curved blade from its sheath.

"Let's pretend to fight," Baatar said, conspiratorially. "Then when you 'defeat' me, the kenku is bound to be impressed. What do you say?"

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

Somgai looks extremely serious for a moment as he thinks it over.

"No, we must tie. Otherwise, the kenku would not teach you, too! Besides, how can the kenku know you're a worthy opponent if you've been defeated?"

Somgai looks more confident now and nods.

"We must fight and tie. No! We must fight and both win. Like an epic story! ...how do we do that?"

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

"Hmm, how can we both win?" Baatar pondered. "Maybe we could take turns winning? But each of us would have to win by using some really dramatic, super powerful finishing move. That would be extra impressive."

"You do have a dramatic, super powerful finishing move, don't you?" he asked. It was implied that the Moto obviously had such a thing.

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

"Oh..." He thinks. "Not that I can show you." He grins mischievously.

"Well, to be honest I was more interested in SEEING the kenku than training. Clearly someone with a dramatic, super powerful finishing move should be the one training with the kenku! So you have to win!"

Somgai nods at the obvious wisdom of this.

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

"But it was your dream to learn the sword from the kenku," Baatar protested. "I can't take that away from you. You should win the fight."

After a few iterations of back-and-forth along these lines on who should win and who should take the fall, Baatar finally offers, "Why don't we just act out a fight, and let's decide who should win that way?"

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

In a flash, Somgai leaps at Baatar, bearing his teeth in a snarl.

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

"Yahh!" Baatar exclaimed, narrowly dodging and moving his scimitar aside to avoid hurting the charging Somgai. "Nice try, but you're no match for my Red Horse Technique!" So saying, the Unicorn kicked at the ground and leapt forward, blade flashing as he advanced to neatly (and harmlessly) bisect thin air on either side of the Phoenix.

The small dog yapped excitedly from the sidelines. "Back, Gölgee!" Baatar commanded, momentarily distracted.

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

Somgai deftly dodges Baatar's strikes in increasingly elaborate ways.

"None can stand against my mighty... Gölgee distraction maneuver!" He lunges in again while Baatar's attention drifts to his dog.

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

"Awrk!" Baatar exclaimed, as Somgai's attack catches him by surprise. "Oh--! I am slain!" He wobbled and fell to one knee dramatically. The Unicorn's sword fell from his nerveless fingers as he recited:

Overdramatic death poem wrote:

Snow in the garden
Tell them I died as I lived
Distracted by dogs

With that, the Moto flopped to the ground, eyes closed.

The effect of Baatar's dramatic death was somewhat ruined when Gölgee the dog trotted over and started licking her master's face.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

A slow clap echoed through the garden.

"What a splendid performance. I do hope this was just a rehearsal for a play for all the castle to enjoy." Iko spoke with the practiced cadence of one not unfamiliar to the courts as she approached the pair slowly.

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

Somgai stands up straight, all fake menace fading from his face as he bows to the newcomer.

"Hello!" He takes a few steps closer to Iko. "Thank you. My opponent was very worthy, only being defeated when a third party," Somgai gestures toward the dog, "intervened."

A little too casually, Somgai walks to the side of Iko and glances at Iko's back as if looking for something, then frowns, disappointed.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

A little taken aback by the strange behaviour, (and a little paranoid that Somgai was checking out her butt) Iko looked the young samurai up and down.

"Looking for something? You'll make a samurai-ko uncomfortable blatantly checking her out like a piece of meat without so much as a compliment afterwards." She joked, though there was a touch of seriousness in her tone.

Isawa Somgai · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:26 am **Posts:** 88

"Oh!" He bows deeply. "I apologize Togashi-sama for giving you that impression! I assure you I'm quite happily married."

He stands back up. "I was merely looking to see if maybe you were hiding wings," he says, as if somehow that makes sense.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"As am I Isawa-san. Married I mean, not looking for wings." She clarifies hastily.

"I am Togashi Iko, and the closest I come to having wings are these." She explains as she points to the menuki hanging from the saya of her katana. Two jet black feathers.

Early lunch (day 1 late morning)

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