The evacuation part 1 (D3 EN open)

Kanade · **Joined:** Tue Mar 31, 2020 10:32 pm **Posts:** 129

Ikoma Homura wrote:

"I'm always happy to assist" she gave Kanade a wink

"I may just have to take you up on your offer some time." The Mantis smiled shyly and continued forth in the rain.

Togashi Myo-en · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 4:27 am **Posts:** 418

Yogo Aya wrote:

Togashi Myo-en wrote:

"A whole mountain?" Myo-en's eyebrows arch upward, just visible in the poor light. "I would call this a foothill's worth of cold. A middling mountain pass, at the worst. But it may be we measure cold differently in the northern peaks than you do south of the Spine."

Did that crow just... wink?

That was the problem with arguing with a Togashi. They just couldn't understand a decent analogy. Always bouncing off on some random tangent.

"I'm surprised, Myo-En-san. I would think that hailing from a colder area you would have had time to develop a deeper understanding of just how bad exposure to the cold really can be for a person. But given I've seen Dragons meditating in the snow, I start to wonder how many you lose each winter to such bravado." she replied.

"Action of mind can warm the body just as action of body awakens the mind." Myo-en breaks the rhythm of her stride to skirt around a particularly treacherous-looking ice-mud-sludge puddle. "That is, if the student truly understands that body and mind are one, which isn't always easy..." The edge of the puddle turns out to be less solid than it looks, and her foot slides for a moment before she recovers her balance smoothly.

"I thought that was why we were disputing? To warm our bodies by means of our minds?" She chuckles, looking down with a rueful air to inspect the cold mud now splashed halfway up one leg of her hakama.

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Togashi Myo-en wrote:

"Action of mind can warm the body just as action of body awakens the mind." Myo-en breaks the rhythm of her stride to skirt around a particularly treacherous-looking ice-mud-sludge puddle. "That is, if the student truly understands that body and mind are one, which isn't always easy..." The edge of the puddle turns out to be less solid than it looks, and her foot slides for a moment before she recovers her balance smoothly.

"I thought that was why we were disputing? To warm our bodies by means of our minds?" She chuckles, looking down with a rueful air to inspect the cold mud now splashed halfway up one leg of her hakama.

"Iiiiinteresting," the Yogo offered. "So while the monk sit in meditation seemingly tranquil and at one with the harmony of the universe, they're merely thinking very very angry thoughts?"

The mud really was getting everywhere. Hopefully it didn't slow them down too much.

"I wonder what such thoughts might be?"

Matsu Kōgyoku · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:36 pm **Posts:** 368

And it was at this moment the Matsu could return to the conversation, having been pulled away by duties that involved both shouting and speaking softly, for the vocal modes were dictated more by the exigencies of duty than personal preference.

Her own thoughts were very angry at times even if that rarely showed in her features; she was not an Ikoma to carry her emotions on her sleeve. She wasn't angry now, however, merely drained and in a frenetic rush of thoughts still influenced by her confrontation with what must have been a faux grandfather of hers.

"Considerations of spirit are very important in the current era; if the Dragon can offer an advice on how to confront your own ancestors without losing one's soul, I'd listen."

For Kōgyoku, marching mud was Tuesday, so she didn't even notice.

Ikoma Homura · **Posted:** Thu Apr 16, 2020 1:08 pm

Kanade wrote:

Ikoma Homura wrote:

"I'm always happy to assist" she gave Kanade a wink

"I may just have to take you up on your offer some time." The Mantis smiled shyly and continued forth in the rain.

"I look forward to spending more time with you Kanade-san" Homura nodded with a smile, peering at the war cats and dogs playing "hopefully they don't disrupt the other travelers too much."

Kanade · **Joined:** Tue Mar 31, 2020 10:32 pm **Posts:** 129

Ikoma Homura wrote:

"I look forward to spending more time with you Kanade-san" Homura nodded with a smile, peering at the war cats and dogs playing "hopefully they don't disrupt the other travelers too much."

"I hope not, but perhaps they will lift the mood a little in this rain." She wasn't entirely sure what the Matsu was expecting but nodded.

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

Mirumoto Wasako wrote:

"Oh, that might be the case..." she said curiously, recalling their conversation earlier today. "I don't think any of us thought we would actually be moving towns this morning but I guess this might be my opportunity...If there is a silver lining in all of this. You can let me know how it compares to this bathhouse in the Scorpion lands. Have you ever been to Nikesake?"

"Never had a reason to", he admitted. "Though it'd be an honor to have some of your time, maybe we can try out the baths together."

He wondered if the bath houses practiced mixed bathing. Well, he could figure it out.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako chuckled and bobbed her head once at the offer. "Sure, seeing as you're the expert of these bathhouses. I kind of find it hard that it'll outdo the one you've told me about."

Togashi Myo-en · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 4:27 am **Posts:** 418

Yogo Aya wrote:

Togashi Myo-en wrote:

"Action of mind can warm the body just as action of body awakens the mind." Myo-en breaks the rhythm of her stride to skirt around a particularly treacherous-looking ice-mud-sludge puddle. "That is, if the student truly understands that body and mind are one, which isn't always easy..." The edge of the puddle turns out to be less solid than it looks, and her foot slides for a moment before she recovers her balance smoothly.

"I thought that was why we were disputing? To warm our bodies by means of our minds?" She chuckles, looking down with a rueful air to inspect the cold mud now splashed halfway up one leg of her hakama.

"Iiiiinteresting," the Yogo offered. "So while the monk sit in meditation seemingly tranquil and at one with the harmony of the universe, they're merely thinking very very angry thoughts?"

The mud really was getting everywhere. Hopefully it didn't slow them down too much.

"I wonder what such thoughts might be?"

"Sometimes." The monk's lips quirk. "Anger is not the only way thought can affect bodies. Conundrums are also warming, I have found. And mysteries can make one forget it's cold."

Matsu Kōgyoku wrote:

"Considerations of spirit are very important in the current era; if the Dragon can offer an advice on how to confront your own ancestors without losing one's soul, I'd listen."

"In my Order we only have ancestors we chose ourselves, in a sense, so I can't exactly grasp this from experience. Your conundrum is very warming, though, Matsu-sama." Myo-en trudges several more squidgy steps, thinking. "Can a person acknowledge when her ancestor has done something wrong?"

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

Mirumoto Wasako wrote:

Wasako chuckled and bobbed her head once at the offer. "Sure, seeing as you're the expert of these bathhouses. I kind of find it hard that it'll outdo the one you've told me about."

He grinned a little. "Fanciful bell towers, rich meals and smiling servants are nice, but they don't compare to good company."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Togashi Myo-en wrote:

[

"In my Order we only have ancestors we chose ourselves, in a sense, so I can't exactly grasp this from experience. Your conundrum is very warming, though, Matsu-sama." Myo-en trudges several more squidgy steps, thinking. "Can a person acknowledge when her ancestor has done something wrong?"

Aya grins a bit at that.

"See, Myo-en-san, Matsu-sama agrees with me. She had a question about a deeply spiritual manner, and she sought the wisdom of a monk, not a shugenja. And her opinion outranks either of ours." she gloated, just a bit.

There was a just a hint of a skip in the Yogo's steps.

"But that does bring up a warming conundrum. We are taught to revere our ancestors who revered their ancestors, and so on and so on, all the way back to the beginning of the Empire. And for those who can draw their bloodline back to the founding kami, it's not hard to see why. To admit they were with fault would be to literally question the infallibility of a god."

She holds up a finger.

"And yet, while we have the shining example of our ancestors, the teachings of the Kami, and the code of bushido....fault occurs. People fail in their duties. They fall victim to the Three Great Sins. Some make the three cuts to spare their families further dishonor, and some return to the waves where perhaps time and tide will purify that which was sullied some day. I think it is fair to say that these times are, historically, far darker than any time in the Empire's history, save perhaps The First War....but why is that? Perhaps, even with the wisdom of centuries, and the written words of gods, that we simply stray further and further from the light of the original Kami? If we ourselves are deeply flawed, did those flaws derive from those who sired us, and will be passed down and amplified in our children?"

Truly, a cheery existential question to ponder while running from an army of angry ghosts.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Bayushi Norikami wrote:

He grinned a little. "Fanciful bell towers, rich meals and smiling servants are nice, but they don't compare to good company."

She nodded soundly at that. "It almost sounds like something from the Tao. It's perhaps far too easy to enrich our stomachs but harder to do so when it comes to our minds and souls. I would think good company goes a very long way that makes them greater pleasures."

Matsu Kōgyoku · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:36 pm **Posts:** 368

The conundrum was real and the Lioness wouldn't offend the reason of them all by denying it. Perhaps she was too thoughtful a Matsu for her own good. Her thoughts didn't stay on the monks vs. shugenja banter; that part disinterested her, even though she'd lean on a Kitsu in spiritual matters more often than on a monk in a situation of a perfect choice.

"We're not gods, and so we're prone to mistakes. But this is precisely why Bushido exists, to provide a definition of ethics and moral rectitude regardless of generation. Herein lies Akodo-kami's wisdom. We shall focus less on fates and dooms and more on ensuring that honour guides us in all our actions. Grim times are an easy excuse."

In a moment of doubt, she reasserted her principles.

"It's precisely in such times when shining examples could be established and karma set pure for the sake of souls we've borrowed... Maybe our ancestors simply test us. Honour emerges from facing adversity, not indulging in peace and comfort."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Aya listened to the Matsu's words thoughtfully.

"That makes a lot of sense for Matsu-sama's ancestors. I can very easily picture them watching over her, judging her actions and intentions, and setting forth trials to make sure that she is a model samurai in every way." she hypothesized.

She gestured over at Myo-En.

"I think Myo-En-san's ancestors would test her in letting her find her own way. They taught her how to walk, but how she walks the path will show how well she's learned and if she can find her way into their ranks."

She paused a moment.

"And then there's me."

She shrugged.

"There are some fates that no amount of honor or shining examples or good deeds can overcome. The test there is once you realize that, how do you continue to move forward? If your life is a path that leads off a cliff with nowhere to turn, what do you do?"

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

Mirumoto Wasako wrote:

She nodded soundly at that. "It almost sounds like something from the Tao. It's perhaps far too easy to enrich our stomachs but harder to do so when it comes to our minds and souls. I would think good company goes a very long way that makes them greater pleasures."

"I suppose it sounds thoughtful, but i like the more simple ' when at supper, friends and lovers are the greatest spice', i think it goes."

Matsu Kōgyoku · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:36 pm **Posts:** 368

"The right thing, just like the rest. We're all fated to die. You're also fated to betray. Everything before and beyond can be guided by honour and sense of duty." The Lioness answered, finding compassion for the Yogo's plight in her and so trying to bring Aya's thoughts on track. "Did your founder not do the right thing when given choice?"

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Matsu Kōgyoku wrote:

"The right thing, just like the rest. We're all fated to die. You're also fated to betray. Everything before and beyond can be guided by honour and sense of duty." The Lioness answered, finding compassion for the Yogo's plight in her and so trying to bring Aya's thoughts on track. "Did your founder not do the right thing when given choice?"

Aya chuckled a bit.

"Ah, but did he? Here we return to our original conundrum about the infallibility of ancestors. Was Yogo himself cursed to betray, or merely his descendants? If he himself was cursed to betray, what was his betrayal? Joining the Scorpion clan? Not making the three cuts as soon as he learned of the curse? Was he driven to propagate his line and therefore the curse, or did he make that choice? Does the good of his original decision outweigh literally generations of betrayals so long that his line and the Empire continue?" she posed.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

She blinked on that peculiar note. "...Is that what they say? I can't say that I've heard that one before...it probably might apply more to a shared meal. Even then, friends and lovers seems very different from each other, no?"

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

He couldn't hold in a hearty laugh. It went on for a moment. He couldn't believe she was so...he didn't know, it wasn't so much pure as it was overthinking everything and being nitpicky, but it wasn't annoying so he couldn't be angry about it.

He sighed.

"Not laughing at you, don't worry", he said after a bit, it didn't wipe the huge grin off his face, barely visible above his loose hanging mempo in the moonlight. "It's just that...ah...well, i'll start with lovers should be friends anyway, don't you think? And besides not everything is taken so literally. It's just saying what i said before, that company makes the meal."

He kept in the chuckles. He'd never seen obtuse be cute before, but he supposed she couldn't help it.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

She crossed her arms and became more guarded once she heard the laughter from Norikami, immediately thinking she might be the butt of a joke or have gotten something wrong.

"Right, of course..." she said as she relaxed slightly from her firm stance. "I suppose that's a common mistake made when it comes to every riddle and koan, taking things too literally obscures the forests from the trees. Not everything in this world can be define by worlds, especially when it comes to something as ethereal as what we're talking about. I've made the mistake of looking into the words from the point and I apologize about that, Bayushi-san."

With that, she offered him a quick bow before continuing on the walk.

The evacuation part 1 (D3 EN open)

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