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| The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) http://spiritwar.fallenash.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=431 |
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| Author: | Togashi Tsukimi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 1:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Like the evening before, Tsukimi was armored and armed as she stood at the wall again, looking out into the oncoming darkness as she pulled her cowl closely around her. Only this time, there were sounds of people on the other side. The gates had been closed, she had heard. To stop the rest from coming inside, it seemed. Would those who had ordered them closed condemn themselves as well in their struggle against the approaching danger? The words of her Champion had given her much to think about still. |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Her reverie is disturbed by a gentle tenor voice softly calling. "Good evening, Togashi-san." The Crane was in armor moving down the wall toward her, his face studiously neutral against the moaning outside. |
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| Author: | Seppun Horonigai [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 7:31 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Marvelled that she pulled that off with the Lion, the Seppun Miharu manages to find an Imperial Legionnaire's battle suit armor that was nearly a perfect fit on her. A bit tight around her chest, though. She walks around with am Imperial sashimono in her handm with no apparent name written on it... for now. Taking a stroll to get used with the new suit, she climbs the stairs up to the walls and walks by, nodding to others as they see the the green Imperial mon flashing. |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 7:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Koushi flowed into the practiced bow of one used to Imperials swanning by. "Pleasant evening, Samurai-sama." |
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| Author: | Seppun Horonigai [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:11 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Horonigai abruptly stops at the 'pleasant' and blinks incredulously. She looks to the masses of people suffering from cold on one side of the wall, and can only imagine how it is at the other side. Definitely not a pleasant evening, tonight. "Konbanwa..." The Seppun girl greets Koushi, slowly, and provides a bow, "...Doji-san. I pray that Inari-no-kami has blessed you today. I'm Seppun Horonigai. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." She also extends the greeting to Tsukimi, noticing that Koushi had initiated his introduction and she sort of, unexpectedly intervened. "Togashi-san. Inari's blessings." |
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| Author: | Togashi Tsukimi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Tsukimi had moved away from her perch as she was alerted to the Doji's approach, and she nodded in acknowledgment. "Greetings." Then the princess arrived as well, and she nodded once more. "Greetings." Her own mood seemed a little somber, but it was hardly a surprise considering what was just outside the walls. "Fortunes' blessings upon you both on this sad day." |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
"And to each of you as well. This one is Doji Koushi, I am pleased to meet you both, in spite of the circumstances." |
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| Author: | Seppun Horonigai [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:29 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
"Togashi-san, Shitsusei shimasu. How are things looking outside?" She questions the Dragon. "Part of me wants that refugees stop to appear, my heart, though, hopes that more and more manage to escape." |
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| Author: | Togashi Tsukimi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
"An honor, Doji-san. I am Togashi Tsukimi of the Ise Zumi Order." Her head tilted slightly to the side, as a hand came up to pull at the cowl to obscure the lower part of her face's left side. "More might still come. But most cannot last in this weather wearing silks and lovely sandals, with no food or shelter. One might say that the lucky ones have already passed to the next stage of the kharmic cycle..." she remarked somberly. "Starving or freezing to death is a terrible way to die. I pray to the Fortunes that their souls find a measure of peace at the end of this life, so their spirits may pass on." |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Koushi frowned as he listened. "We should not give up on them yet, Togashi-san. There are still steps that we can take. There is a story about Shinsei and snowflakes that comes to mind at times like these. We would be remiss if we were to ignore its lesson." |
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| Author: | Seppun Horonigai [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 9:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Story? Horonigai tilts her head curiously towards the Crane, and bats some eyelashes. "Ne. Doji-san. I never heard this story. Care to share it?" The armored Imperial shoulder pads go up slightly. "If you have time, of course. I would not impose." |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 9:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Koushi's mind blanks for one terrible second. "Ah, I am no storyteller, but I...ah...will do my best." He cleared his throat. "One day, Lady Doji was looking out from her window when she spied an old man sitting in the snow, outside the warmth of the city. He was ragged from travel. Shabby. And he could be seen to shiver. So Lady Doji called her maidservants to summon this beggar to her, to keep him safe and warm, but to her surprise, the maids told her that this man--a monk, as it happens--had refused. Puzzled by this, Lady Doji left the palace and walked down the road, bearing only a blanket of thick wool, she stood in the snow near the little man. "They tell me that you will not come inside," she said, "Will you not at least accept this warm blanket?" "Why would I wish to?" The beggar asked. "To live. The day grows dark, and the night is full of suffering. Do you wish to freeze and die?" The old man looked up at the Kami, her face as white as the snow. "Die? You say that word with dread, my Lady." "Are you not afraid of death?" "Rather, my Lady, I am not afraid to live." After a pause to register her puzzlement, he continued. "Look around you, Lady. What do you see." "The world." The old man laughed. "Is that all? Tell me, do you not see the snow?" "The snow? Of course I see it. There is snow everywhere." And then, perplexingly, he was not satisfied, but asked whether she truly saw it, asking her to identify a piece of snow, which she did. "It has seven spires from a single point." And they went on like this for a time, identifying snowflakes. Then, at last, the monk made his point. "In all the snowflakes of all the snowfalls, no two are alike. No two in eternity. If I were to go inside with you, I would never see that snowflake; it's pattern would never occur again." Doji-kami frowned. "It is only water." "And life is but a single day, one after another, until years have passed and you have grown old, and then you say, "where have all the days gone?" He chuckled. "How did you spend the morning?" The curious question surprised her. "This morning? Weaving a cloak for my brother." "For blocks and a single spire!" The beggar laughed, pounding his feet upon the ground as he pointed at another flake of snow. "Do you remember each silken string that you wove into the pattern of your brother's cloak?" "Why no, of course not?" "Why not?" "There are hundred in the pattern--thousands in all. Who could remember each one?" "Yet, I suppose you remember each mistake you made, and the hours it took to correct them." "Hai, of course." "Perhaps if you had taken a moment to see every strange, to understand each fiber, you would never have made those mistakes. Like you did not see the snowflake, you ignore what is around you---you ignore the days of life, to see only the years." He snorted. "you cannot change the passing of years, but you can change the passing of hours--and what you choose to do as that time passes. Will it be something you will remember, or will your days pass you by as if they were nothing but a fog of snow?" Lady Doji stared at the little man. "You are more than a mere beggar," she said, a tear sliding down her cheek, weeping ice. "But are you more than just one life among many? And when you die, will you be remembered, or will you melt, Lady Doji, and be forgotten forever. If you will not remember the snowflake, who will remember you?" And Lady Doji and the old man knelt together and watched the snow fall, piece by piece, onto the plains around them. [[With complements to Ree Soesbee and John Wick]] |
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| Author: | Togashi Tsukimi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:41 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Tsukimi listened intently to the story, trying to glean what wisdom it might contain. Perhaps it was simple, really. "We won't forget those who perish here, or between here and Morikage Toshi," she murmured, wondering how truly unique each person was. |
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| Author: | Seppun Horonigai [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
In the other hand, Horonigai –– as usual –– failed to grasp any sense from the tale. Perhaps later, she would. The Seppun maiden yawns. Noticing her lack of decorum, she instantly covers her mouth with her hand, widening her eyes. A mufled, "gomen," comes out of it, and she barely holds a giggle. |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Koushi shook his head. "Of course we will, Togashi-san. We won't even have a chance to learn their names. But, with action, we can save a few." |
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| Author: | Togashi Tsukimi [ Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Normally she would've been disappointment with such lack of interest that the Imperial displayed, but Tsukimi figured that the girl was probably still coping with the shock of it all, judging by the state she had seen her in yesterday. "What action does Doji-sama have in mind?" She hoped it wasn't to remember each snowflake. |
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| Author: | Seppun Horonigai [ Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:15 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
On the thought of, Action!, Horonigai numbness fades. She nods, energetically. "Un! What is the plan, Doji-san?" |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Koushi was a little unprepared for the fire he had lit. "Oh...ah, well, I intend to use the brief flash of authority I have been granted to ask the Governor to have the refugees moved to the port, where they can be loaded on ships and sent to real safety." As he spoke, the plan developed slowly in his mind. "Perhaps if you were to requisition the vessels from their captains, Seppun-sama, we could be ready for the influx, and Otosan Uchi would be more likely to accept them. Who among the Lion sailors would refuse you? Especially if the Governor supports the effort." |
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| Author: | Togashi Tsukimi [ Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:35 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Oh, that is clever. If the refugees can be moved down the coast... "Do we know if the Steel Chrysanthemum's forces possess any ships themselves?" she asked, having thought about it for a little bit. |
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| Author: | Doji Koushi [ Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:48 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Die Is Cast (Day 2, Early Evening) |
Koushi shook his head slowly. "I do not." |
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