The Day of Thunder

"Go home."

He cackled.

"No, it's a fair question. I'd like to make sure we're actually coordinated instead of simply taking jobs individually. I'm not that big on strict hierarchy, but a crisis situation demands a clear chain of command. For the majority of us who won't be Thunders? We're going to need to have our heads on straight and be ready for whatever comes our way."

A pause.

"To that end, I've already asked Wu Zhe to see about training up and coordinating with any of the locals who can hold a spear. If you wouldn't mind, perhaps you could liaise with him to coordinate where any such farmer-soldiers can be of use in a plan of defense led by Lady Makime."

"If they don't have any training already, it will likely be pretty hard to give them any sort of training in time to matter." Shinsei had after all said they had a matter of days. "But if he can find spears to arm them, I suppose there in no harm trying."

"Though." He frowned. "I'm pretty sure Lady Makime will just assign them to some place they'll be out of the way. We aren't fighting bandits after all, but monsters and one of them break they all will, and then it will just be a slaughter."

"Maybe not if we leaven them with samurai. Not like most of us have large contingents of our own forces we're used to fighting beside, after all."

He shrugged.

"And the mere act of training them, marshaling them, might, if nothing else, help us avoid undue panic."

"Maybe." He said with a shrug. "And I'll talk with her and him. I just want you prepared for the answer I figure she'll give."

"I'll see if she has the time for a talk in the morning. Not knowing how much time we might have there is no reason to put it off."

"When you do tell her, remind her that it might not be the army she wanted, but it's the closest thing to an army we'll have."

"I'll let her know." He'd also let her know it wasn't his idea, but he didn't need to say that out loud.

"Seems like you figured out something to do at least." He took a sip from his cup. "That must have you feeling a bit better about being here." Probably still didn't make the man want to be here, but you could only ask for so much.

"It's a thing, but it's a shaky thing with uncertain foundations. So."

Sip.

"I fully expect to have Lady Makime's list of requirements," because calling them demands would be too on the nose, "to guide such training as we can get in relayed to Wu-san. Besides his family's focus on spears as a weapon of choice, he also has... a rapport with the Headwoman which will likely make people a bit less resistant to being bossed around by him in particular."

"Oh, he's the one shacking up with the headswoman then?" Kenji asked, as he tried to attach a face to the name but failed. He didn't recall such a man being at the meeting this afternoon. Lady Makime probably wouldn't be too pleased to hear about that either, but you had to work with what you had.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing there is a connection to the villagers here at least. As you said it could help smooth things along." He frowned a moment. "Might help too if he actually plans to marry her. Some might not think too kindly of him courting a woman without any such intentions."

"It's certainly a thing to be thought about. Although any wedding will likely need to wait until we know who's alive at the end of the week."

He glanced at the Lion.

"Another fringe benefit of the training? We'll get to know some of these people in this village that's all wrong a little better. We likely won't make a legion of them, but we might understand the ground we stand on a little better. Villages aren't places, they're people."

"Of course, any sort of wedding will have to wait, I'm just saying having his intentions known is only likely to help. You are right villages are the people in them, and it would only take one old woman saying that he is taking advantage of Miss Chouri to send their sons off to be slaughtered to turn half this place against us."

"Letting people know what his intentions are helps nip that in the bud. Because if he plans to marry the Headswoman, he's planning to set up roots here. Which lets people argue that he is doing this for the sake of the village, not just for the sake of a bunch of strangers. Otherwise, you might need to find someone else to do the training. Maybe one of those that fought off the wolves today." He shook his head. "But, that's just my opinion on the matter."

"See? You two already have so much to talk about."

"I get the feeling you're trying to delegate an unwelcome task to me there Jiyo-sama." Kenji said with a raised eyebrow. It was after all the older man's project. "If you're leaving to me though, I'd likely just pick someone else." He said with a shrug. "Less risk."

The young Lion shook his head. "That's all something to worry about in the mornign though."

"Delegating unpleasant tasks is the prerogative of the old. But I'm not leaving the choice to you, I'm leaving the coordination to you. There's a hell of a lot to be done, and the only way even half of it's going to happen is if we share the load around. Today was a probing recon. Not sure how much time we have before we're hit again- they don't have to overrun us, just demoralize us. After that... well."

He shrugged.

"I've seen panic and low morale destroy a village before."

Well, he'd done what he could but the other man seemed to have made up his mind.

"I'll look for this Wu after I meet with Lady Makime then." Kenji replied. "Need to know her opinion on things first after all."

"Likely to be quite, quite dire, Akodo-san."

"Certainly Jiyo-sama. Which is why I intend to get to it as soon as possible in the morning." Kenji replied.

Sleep shouldn't be far off now after all.

"Yes, well."

He nodded to the bottle.

"Let us hope that stuff does its work, hm?"

[Feels like /scene to me!]

"Lets." He agreed, and soon after was off to seek his bed.

/scene

[And thankya!]