The Day of Thunder

*squelch* *squelch* Far from the low rumble of hooves on the steppe, the sucking mud of the last few miles of road had put Otaku Xiaochen in rather a dour frame of mind. As the fog of the village wound its shroud around her and Zhanshi, she could not help the development of a frown. Her first foray into the wider Empire had turned from breezy sun-dappled ride into a tired slog through soupy ground, and now she could barely make out the buildings around her for all the wetness in the air.

She patted Zhanshi's neck for comfort. "Nearly there, I expect." Or hope. "They must have a stable around here somewhere."

A young woman soon appears out of the fog, carrying some herbs in a basket on her back. She pauses, eyes wide when she sees Xiaochen.

"Oh my... We don't see a lot of horses around here... Of course, we don't see many samurai, either. Oh!" She starts. "Where are my manners?"

She bowed deeply, careful not to spill the herbs in her basket. "I am Chouri, the headwoman of this village. I'm honored to meet you, samurai-sama."

Xiaochen hesitates as her mind rifles through the well-thumbed pages of Lady Doji's Precepts of Etiquette. She settles on a quarter turn in the saddle to address herself to the headwoman and a bow from the shoulders to indicate respect and, perhaps, openness to camaraderie.

"Thank you for your greeting, Chouri-san. You have a lovely village." That seemed about right as an expression, not that Xiaochen could be entirely sure of its level of loveliness, given the veil of vapor. "I am Otaku Xiaochen of Lady Shinjo's people. We do not generally have villages, as such, where I come from, so I hope that Zhanshi and I are not infringing unduly on protocol in our search for shelter." She paused. "Or is it accommodation, here?" New lands, new vocabulary.

"Thank you very much! Our people have made a lot of effort in preparation for the festival starting tomorrow," she replied with a warm smile. "You and your lovely steed aren't infringing at all. My home has a small proper stable in case of guests, and there are a couple of barns around the farms that any more can shelter in. I'd be happy to lead you to my home."

Xiaochen smiled in relief. "Thank you, Chouri-san, that would be nice." She swung down easily from the saddle and placed her hand of-so-gently on Zhanshi's wither to guide him where Chouri might lead. "You have had the village in this place for a while, then?"

"A little while... We rebuilt on the site of one of the villages that went to join the Kami," she explained as they walked. "Originally it was just me, but... I think people looking for relief from the nightmares were drawn here."

She shifted the weight of the basket on her shoulders and smiled as she looked around. "We've really become a community, I think, in the last few years."

At some point, the two would become aware of the sound of hoofsteps coming up the path. Which obviously wasn't Xiaochen's horse. Instead, it was a slightly smaller horse, old and black furred with a white mane. On it was a small looking samurai (easy enough to tell with the daisho) in dark robes and a traveling cloak atop them.

As they approached, the person rose a hand in greeting; Not really as proper as a bow, but much much easier to do from horseback.

As Ohta appeared. Chouri paused to bow to her. "Good morning, samurai-sama."

Chouri wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 16, 2023 6:11 am

"A little while... We rebuilt on the site of one of the villages that went to join the Kami," she explained as they walked. "Originally it was just me, but... I think people looking for relief from the nightmares were drawn here."

She shifted the weight of the basket on her shoulders and smiled as she looked around. "We've really become a community, I think, in the last few years."

"That's lovely." She may have continued, but Chouri's reaction to Ohta's arrival caused her to turn and reach back into protocol. Let's see...same rank, different clan, so the bow should be...this deep. Bow executed, she smiled in an easy sort of way. "Good morning, Spider-san."

"Oh, good morning too you as well, Ki-Rin-san. Nice to see another rider on the... roads, even in the conditions things are in."

The mud and dampness really was something. Turning her head, Ohta looked at Chouri, "And based on what you were talking about, you must be a local."

Now close enough and slowing Kinboshi to a stop, Ohta gave a bow of her head to the two, "I'm Reiko Ohta, by the way. Looking forward to giving my horse here a rest soon, so doubly glad to see friendly faces."

And they did look friendly. Not the look of madmen. ...not that they ALL had a look about them...

"Otaku Xiaochen, and this is Chouri, she's the headwoman of the village. It is nice to make your acquaintance." She paused to allow Chouri to decide whether to offer Ohta to come along, because it seemed inordinately rude just to pre-empt an invitation.

Chouri bows deeply to Ohta. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, join us.I have a small stable at my home." She gestures along the path before beginning walking again. "I was just telling Otaku-sama about the origins of our humble village."

[Sorry, autocorrect. Stuck phone posting.]

Ohta got off her horse and gingerly lowered herself to the path; Even though the horse was shoter than Xiaochen's, it still looked tall next to the diminutive Spider woman as she took its reins.

"A village head, out here to meet us? I am even luckier than I already thought. Stables and a history lesson to boot sounds like a perfect way to unwind from traveling."

Ohta lowered the hood from her traveling cloak, straightening and fluffing her black hair with her free hand.

Xiaochen's ears pricked up a bit at 'oralu-sama,' but she let it sail on by. After all, no use souring what might be a profitable relationship over a mispronunciation. "Thank you for your hospitality, Chouri-san," she said as she turned to follow along. "I am sure Zhanshi will appreciate being out of the damp."

The sound of a staff hitting the ground as the padding of footsteps sound out through the fog as a person wearing the well-worn travel garb of a member of the Brotherhood becomes increasingly visible. A woman with a slight smile and a gleam in her jade eyes as she eyes the figures ahead.

She acknowledges the status of the two samurai and headwoman with a bow, but is a bit distracted by the two steeds. Even the smaller one was much bigger than she expected up close. But even then she didn’t feel the need to distract the others from their conversation.

Reiko Ohta wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 16, 2023 6:45 pm

"A village head, out here to meet us? I am even luckier than I already thought. Stables and a history lesson to boot sounds like a perfect way to unwind from traveling."

Chouri turned bright red. "Oh, I was just an ascetic. It was entirely happenstance that I ended up the head. Please don't worry to much about it."

She notes to monk. "Would you like to join us? I don't have proper tea, but there's barley tea and water. When we get to my home, that is."

“I’m well used to barley tea. Thank you for offering such a chance to have some company after a long time only being accompanied by the sounds of nature.” There’s the hint of a chuckle as she stands up straight, eyes scanning the three. “I apologize, you may call me Sukuna. A simple monk.”

"Sukuna-sama, it's a pleasure to meet another of a philosophical bent," she greeted warmly. "My name is Chouri."

The garb of a monk. Ohta glanced over but said nothing in greeting really, just giving a slight incline of her head. One thing she HAD expected coming here was monks. And she'd seen one or two on the road here. The fact there was another was not unexpected.

"Barely tea sounds WONDERFUL actually. At least for myself."

Xiaochen followed suit in extending a greeting to the monk and acquiescing to what seemed to be substandard tea. Not that she had had much in the way of the real stuff. Barley tea had to beat boiled mare's milk, at least. Probably.