The Day of Thunder

Wearing hat and cloak over armor and rough clothes, pack slung and weapons where he might could put hands on them if he needed to, he ambles into the market. Lanterns punctuate the fog, and one of them has the marks on it that mean food is there. He's hungry, so that's where he goes, finding a seat on a bench and leaning in. A bowl of rice, pickled vegetables left from the season passing on, some kind of bean or another, a little seasoning, bland, maybe, but hot and filling, and those are what matter in the moment.

Giving thanks and chewing slowly, he glances over his shoulders at odd intervals, looking.

Goju is looking for a place to eat his own food. He sees the Stag and hesitates, but decides to approach him and bows. "Hello, Stag-san. I am Hisomu Goju. May I join you?"

"Hm?"

He chews a couple times, nods his head toward the other end of the bench, swallows.

"Otomo Akutou.

"Food's alright. Pickling spices're different from what I'm used to, but they're not bad."

He pauses just before taking another bite, eyes the Spider.

"What's got you in this part of the world?"

Rice finds mouth, and there is more chewing.

"Someone told me to come here and my lord approved it. I'd rather be out at sea, but oh well. You?"

"Ugh. You can keep the sea; I've seen enough of it for my lifetime. Or the next several, if the Seppun priests are right about things."

Akutou shudders.

"But other than that, much the same. The O-Iemoto told me to come, so I did. Long walk. Some company, not a whole lot. Not too broken up about it, though. Decent hunting along the way, so hunger wasn't a concern. Weather could've been better, but that's more often true than not."

He takes another bite, chews and swallows before adding to what he'd said.

"Weather here's off, though. Shouldn't be quite so foggy. Feels to me like it wants to not be, somehow."

Goju has no response about the sea. More for him he guesses.

At the mention of the odd weather, he nods. "Something is going on. I think I saw a few big names in my Clan on the way here. I wouldn't be surprised if others show up." Goju hoped none of them would be here.

Working on another mouthful of food--more pickles than rice, this time--Akutou nods.

"Hantei Genji made the trip, I think," he says. "I believe I heard something about him meeting cousins of his. Scuttleb--er, rumor puts Jiyo Sora on the road here, too.

"But then, rumor puts him anywhere and everywhere at any given time. It's like the old stories of Ujimitsu that I remember being told."

DAMNIT!!! A host of emotions play of Goju's face from anger to sadness to fear at the mention of Genji's name though he quickly gets control of himself. If Akutou wasn't looking at him as he mentioned that name, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

"I see. I was afraid of that." He would volunteer for whatever this is. "The bigger the names means the bigger the problem." Goju shrugs. "Oh well." Goju was probably at his life expectancy anyways.

"Y'know," Akutou says around a mouthful of beans--pretty sure it's beans--"that's a sentiment I can get behind."

He swallows and continues.

"Lots of folks get...well, a body can always tell who's come up and who started up."

Goju nods. The Stag's words would lead to the Spider having a long philosophical and scholarly thought before bedtime. Luckily here, he could ignore them for now.

"Aye. I guess this probably has to do with dream stuff going on? That's the only thing that makes sense." Goju sighs. "It always comes back to the Nezumi."

That gets the Otomo's attention.

"You're familiar with 'em, then?" he asks. He does not fill his mouth with more food before continuing this time.

"I had the pleasure of workin' alongside one of 'em a few years back. The O-Iemoto said he 'ad good relationships with 'em, somethin' about 'em appreciatin' his work on one of his expeditions, an' it showed. I picked up some knowin' of 'em, but only a bit. Too much of it's in smells for me to follo' into much detail, though."

Yes, the accent is deepening.

Goju nods along and notes Akutou's interest in the Nezumi. "Aye. I was a Seeker of Name a little while ago and studied their Name Magic. Their power is incredible." Goju has absolute respect for the Name magic that he seems to not have for much else. "Though getting a shaman to talk to me was always hard since...." Goju pauses thinking how to describe his situation, "since I have weak Name. So, most of my studying was second hand unfortunately."

"The one I worked with," Akutou replies, "called Tik'kek, I think, was a more physical type. Moved well through the woods. Didn't talk much about Name or any such thing, really."

Akutou shrugs, takes another mouthful of rice. He chews for a moment, swallows, and adds "Sounds more like priest talk t' me. Never have been able to wrap my head around it. I make the offerin's, say the prayers. But as f'r knowin' how any of it works..."

He trails off, shrugging.

"Hasn't been a focus."

"Name magic is different. Well, not denying their religious significance, but it's not about making offerings to the kami. It's about using your Name to warp reality to your wishes. It's power is.... well, let's say I'm glad the Stag are the neighbors to the Nezumi."

"We get on with 'em well enough," Akutou replies. "Occasional dustups, but that's true any time y' get two groups come into contact. Lots o' folks feel like they've gotta show who's got the most t' swing around, even with the Kami in charge of things here. Nothin' wrong with a little fun, now an' ag'in, but some folks take it further'n it oughta go."

Another shrug, another mouthful of food.

"Time enough t' get mean when it needs doin'."

Otomo Akutou wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 16, 2023 2:38 am

"We get on with 'em well enough," Akutou replies. "Occasional dustups, but that's true any time y' get two groups come into contact. Lots o' folks feel like they've gotta show who's got the most t' swing around, even with the Kami in charge of things here. Nothin' wrong with a little fun, now an' ag'in, but some folks take it further'n it oughta go."

Another shrug, another mouthful of food.

"Time enough t' get mean when it needs doin'."

Goju chuckles at 'taking fun too far' comment. "Aye. I have a bit of experience with that. Not that I remember much of it."

The Otomo cuts his eyes over to Goku, looks him up and down for a heartbeat, two, and nods. "Yeah, I believe that," he says. "You've got th' look of someone who does. Sailors run that way, anyway. In my experience.

"But I'ven't talked much with Spider. Might could be diff'rent up your way'n back down mine."

He takes another mouthful of food. The bowl is around half empty at this point.

"Probably the same. Though that is behind me." There was a hint of sadness in those words.

"Unfriendly admiral?" Akutou asks. "I know 'bout that kinda thing."

"More like.... a concerned lord. Fortunately, I have my own ship, so I don't have to worry about anyone above me. On the sea at least." Goju was interested in the Stag's tale but decided to not pry considering his earlier reaction to Goju mentioning the sea.