[D9 - EE] Wolfing Down Dinner (Closed)

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"I would imagine that he would wish you the same." What honorable husband would not? She offered her a reassuring look, cocking her head. "But I am sorry. Too much thought of such things breeds worry, worry you should not have. We're here to relax a little, are we not?"

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu nodded and gave a faint smile. "Hai, as you say... though I am not so worried. A little is natural, but I tend to just go with the flow of things as they come."

Taking some more bites of her meal, she glanced over at Mari. "Is this one allowed to ask what it is Mari-san seeks on her pilgrimage?"

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She looked uncomfortable and glanced away. It wasn't an act for once. Worrying at her lip, she sighed and shook her head. "I... would rather you not. There are parts of this that my most recent lord would prefer not be spoken of, and that I should not discuss. Suffice it to say that a personal tragedy demonstrated how much I needed to begin a new direction in my life, and how much I was meant to discover who and what I am and meant to serve as."

Oddly? That was pretty sincere, but her nerves were showing at the edges. She was holding back a lot and didn't bother to hide it, but she wasn't lying. The unicorn almost certainly did not want her talking about them turning into zombies when they die, and how they dragged a minor clan into that crap without so much as asking their thoughts.

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Whether Mari was stretching the truth or not, Poemu immediately had decided not to probe. She even looked a touch sheepish. "Ah, sumimasen. You need say no more. I am a curious woman, and thought perhaps I could help. From what little you could say, it is a personal matter. I will pray for you to find the answers you seek."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She nodded gratefully. "Thank you, -sama. I apologize, considering how nosey I've been already tonight. But if you're interested in the places I've been on my pilgrimage, I don't mind talking about that at all, if it's any consolation." That she didn't necessarily share with other ronin. A few various places could be fun to talk about, and she knew stories.

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I am always interested in anything you wish to share Mari-san." Poemu's smiled warmed once more away from it's apologetic look. "I would think of it as more stories."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She relaxed again, sighing some as she took a bit of pork and chewed on it thoughtfully. When she swallowed, she cocked her head and looked over at Poemu. "I wonder what kind of story of my wanderings might interest, Agasha-sama. The places that I've gone, the people that I've met, or the things I've been up to?" she asked, curious enough still.

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I would love to hear about any of those!" Poemu nodded in enthusiasm. *Though I suppose if I had to choose, I'd hear of the people. People are always the most interesting and varied."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"So..." she began before chuckling to herself. "One of the places that I spent most of my time in the last year really wasn't the most interesting, and yet it told me a lot about the Lion, about the way that they think. Their ever-ready attitude. I stayed by the leave of the local governor in Murame Toshi for months. It's a vassal town, just a little village, but they've been building it up. Everything in the town is new because of how close it was to the lands that the Unicorn reclaimed. The Lion, I think, still expect conflict, and they had been so long expecting their wars oon other front that they were building up Kyuden Ikoma and that village just to catch back up."

She chuckled a little. "They were on edge in that town a lot. Always with their eyes towards the north, but the town... it was barely a town. A village with a military barracks that they turned into a castle. Bleak. Austere. Very Lion, that place, but ... when you visited the town, it was more rough and tumble. Ikoma towns can be much more fun than Akodo ones."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu looked thoughtfully at Mari before smiling wryly. "Hai, I think I can see them being more your style. Morikage Toshi didn't seem too heavily militarized, but I think that might be a leftover from when the Phoenix ruled. There were certainly plenty of patrols."

"Was your visit to that village before the majority of the Unicorn left then? Or were they preparing all the same for the return?"

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"I suspect so. It's deep enough into Phoenix lands, I believe, that there would not be conflict that reached its walls often." She didn't sound sure. She'd seen a map of that area once, and the Lion border claims had altered it rather heavily.

"Mmmm? They were still building up the garrison with the understanding the Unicorn would be there for a long time. The sudden change had them confused and it was all the whisper at the tables at night. They were unsure of what the Unicorn were doing and why." Admittedly, the announcement of seeking Shinjo probably reached a few ears. But... "It was a vassal town, so I don't think news traveled quickly from the capital."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

She nodded softly. "Hai hai. That's understandable. The lands to the west were just more Lion land before, so they'd hardly need any sort of garrison. I feel a bit sorry for the villagers. It must seem a huge change for them "

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"They'd had a year, but yes. The local headman was beside himself with the constant changes. Very deferential, but they were worried about their rice patties getting trampled," she chuckled a little. "It turned out alright for the most part. There was no actual battle, just nerves and minor injuries. They needed my services a lot until a Kitsu could be assigned."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu nodded again, then smiled softly. "That was very kind of you Mari-san. Not all shugenja would have taken the time to help peasants like that. I'm certain they were very appreciative."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She chuckled a little and shrugged. "Forgive me. I now people have accused me of being a compassionate soul in the past, but part of the truth of it is that peasants will give a gift just as readily as samurai," she offered with a very tiny, roguish wink. "Though I confess that I do like offering them the help that I do. They are overlooked often, and samurai are supposed to be able to endure a little pain, are they not? I'm sure they can handle the lumps if there's no real fighting."

A little bit of her wry humor she usually spared most samurai from. She was getting the feeling Poemu might forgive it.

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"Modesty is fine Mari-san. All the same, reward or not, there are certainly samurai that would never do what you did." Poemu smiled warmly. "Not that I don't think you wouldn't help a samurai as well, though most Lion would be too prideful to accept help from a ronin."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"When the Kitsu was assigned to town, that was definitely the case. The garrison commander was... well, he was very Ikoma. Let's put it that way." Which was to say a pragmatic fellow, not bound up in cumbersome views of bushido like the Akodo and Matsu. "Before they arrived, he had conscripted me, so he ordered his men to take the healing I gave while I was on duty. Some just pretended not to be badly hurt, heh... Afterwards, I was given my last severance and their thanks, but I wasn't needed. It was about as expected, but it did take a while. Shugenja are valuable, rare things, even among the clans."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

She nodded a bit. "True enough. Come to think of it, the only clan I hear that doesn't like ronin priests are the Phoenix. Then again, they have plenty of shugenja to spare, or so I hear."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"The Isawa..."

Deep breaths. She closed her eyes. A moment's thought. It was a delicate matter.

"The Isawa rule the elemental council of their own creation by Imperial authority, and preside over the matters of magic and magical law of the empire. They are rightly renowned as some of the greatest masters of the priestly arts in recorded history. As such, they do not generally like things that they do not have awareness of, or control over in magic and the kami."

Another breath. "A ronin, even one on musha shugyo, is an unknown factor. I would willingly share, if one of their council insisted, the source of my schooling as is right. But they can be very ... curious about these matters in uncomfortable ways at times, yes." Her eye opened a fraction and she smiled. "And they aren't always the experts in every field. Some schools studied things they did not."

You know, like animal spirits. Because the Isawa totally studied plenty on blood magic.

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

It DID seem a touchy subject for Mari. Perhaps the woman was a Phoenix? No no, that wouldn't make-- No! Bad, evil Poemu! No guessing! She flushed softly before shaking her head and giving a sheepish smile. "I did not mean to imply any disparagement of the Isawa, or the Phoenix. And it is understandable to be wary of the unknown. You would know more about specializations than I would though."

[D9 - EE] Wolfing Down Dinner (Closed)

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