"Good bunch all around, though, eh?" Sora grinned.Hisomu Reo wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:36 pm"It helps that we get almost all the Reiko who didn't win the prize of speaking to spirits."
And the grin widened.
The young woman reflexively rolled her shoulders to loosen them up, as if obeying a jiujitsu instructor, before realizing the person addressing her appeared to be Very Important.Matsu wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:37 pm"Good morning," the Amazon stood, arms crossed over her chest, tilting her head to look down at the fully armored woman, an eyebrow raised. The Matsu offered a small smile, before regarding the Monk and his rock again. "Relax the shoulders. You look like you're waiting for something bad to happen. And if it does, you're going to be exhausted before getting a chancd to stab it."
Slight eyebrow raise at the tall woman, but seeing the mask betrayed nothing else... but her thoughts warred between anger and joy for [redacted] reasons.Han-Hei wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:56 pmA tall woman donning a fox mask quietly slipped into the gathering and looked over the faces of those gathering.
She knew some… she knew of some… and she knew not many.
She let out a long and quiet breath through her nose and set her sight on Shinsei.
Well… here’s your hero squad…
"I've been called many things, but I think being compared to a coyote is a first," he shrugged. "The Scorpion and the Spider certainly claim knowledge in those fields, but they are not alone. A Crab also has pincers and a hard armour like a Scorpion and many legs like the Spider. Perhaps I am a different type of Crab?"
"Exactly. Which is why you need to relax. You won't be able to react in time, or act in general, if you're so tense. Breath slowly, and deeply. The time to be the most calm and relaxed is right when bad things are going to happen, Ayako." The smile didn't disappear, turning more fully to face the Crab.Yoshitsune Ayako wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:58 pmThe young woman reflexively rolled her shoulders to loosen them up, as if obeying a jiujitsu instructor, before realizing the person addressing her appeared to be Very Important.
"Oh~~! I beg your pardon, great lady," the Crab woman said, bowing respectfully. "I am called Yoshitsune Ayako. And, uh, isn't that why we are here? Something bad is happening, right?"
She caught sight of Auntie Nozomi's nod, and smiled wider, waving at her with her fingers. A hint of the precocious child that she knew on the walk to hell showing through the intimidating demeanor of the Amazon.
"If the Hisomu learned one thing, it's that if you offer the broken, the forgotten and the strange a home, so long as you say "fuck Jigoku" you get a lot of Jigoku fuckers." Reo pauses. "That came out wrong. It sounds like something Matsu would say about the Crane. Not incorrectly mind you."
"Phi!" Reo lapses into her old name out of habit. "I was just talking about my obsolescence! I have a few in mind, which would let me run back out and investigate weird stuff like this more. Maybe have a few more adventures before I shuffle off."
Matsu, while she had never met the woman, she was made well aware of her by Dojihime and then the stories coming from the Spider that visited the clan. Ai had been away on her duties and her own training… but of course the potential Thunder was here…
Ai was pleased to see another ally of the Crane, and made a mental note to cross Makime's path in the near future.Makime wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 1:07 pmMakime arrived.
Her attention fell only briefly on Shinsei. It was the rest of the attendees that more caught her interest. She would give her fellow Daimyo a nod of acknowledgement. Makime's lips pressed flat at the sight of Jiyo Sora, trouble always seems to come in doubles.
Finally she turns her attention to the little teacher. The Lioness crossed her arms and waited.
She gave him a knowing grin and winked at both he and Reo. "I'll have you know my joints aren't creaking or popping quite yet." There might have been the slightest of fibs in that statement. "But I think everyone here's bound to have a few dangerous hobbies. We don't end up waiting on a man who sits on the same rock all the time without that." There was a hint of familiar affection there, as there always was when she spoke of Shinsei, especially where he might hear. If it nettled even slightly or made him smile, it took his mind off of ... whatever it was on these days.
She gave the warrior a grin and a not so subtle wink. Someone was entitled to keep a bit of that childhood back in with her. They had far too much adult things to deal with of late. She'd catch her sometime soon to get her ass beaten in a sparring match, so they could catch up.
She laughed softly. "I think you have me mistaken for this one's daughter, though I'll take the compliment." She gave Reo a wink as well. Years ago, she might have winced. But in the end, a name was just a word. She didn't really care if she was called one or another. There were few enough who remembered 'Phi' before she'd walked into the wastelands and another woman had walked out. "But you'd better have at least one more adventure in you. It seems we all might need to be at the ready just one more time, and I seem to recall you were pretty damned good with a bow."
Sora... grinned.
"And he's one of the brainier sorts from back when, to boot... which is good, we'll need someone with a sharp mind to keep up with these youngsters, and it damn sure won't be me!"
If Sora's grin flickered slightly, he did his level best to hide it.
"It's funny that you say that. I've kept at a few dangerous hobbies, and "one last adventure" has been a thought I've been mulling on all winter." Reo's fingers tighten on his walking stick.Nozomi wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 1:15 pm
She gave him a knowing grin and winked at both he and Reo. "I'll have you know my joints aren't creaking or popping quite yet." There might have been the slightest of fibs in that statement. "But I think everyone here's bound to have a few dangerous hobbies. We don't end up waiting on a man who sits on the same rock all the time without that." There was a hint of familiar affection there, as there always was when she spoke of Shinsei, especially where he might hear. If it nettled even slightly or made him smile, it took his mind off of ... whatever it was on these days.
She laughed softly. "I think you have me mistaken for this one's daughter, though I'll take the compliment." She gave Reo a wink as well. Years ago, she might have winced. But in the end, a name was just a word. She didn't really care if she was called one or another. There were few enough who remembered 'Phi' before she'd walked into the wastelands and another woman had walked out. "But you'd better have at least one more adventure in you. It seems we all might need to be at the ready just one more time, and I seem to recall you were pretty damned good with a bow."
"Now that is one thing I'll take credit for. Rank and Glory?" Reo brushes a hand. "I'll stay a librarian thank you very much. But I won't pass up funding, and when a Kami says "research anything you think is Jigoku adjacent" The man pauses. "It's been a busy five years."
She snorted and then chuckled. "When people let fool notions like romance and love get into their head, they'll get themselves up to all sorts of craziness. They'll find a path soon enough, don't worry. Most folks do eventually." She didn't even bother to give Sora the warning look. Oh she knew all about fool brain-dead things people did because of their emotions. Sometimes, you couldn't drag the worldly out of a monk.
"In other words, business as usual..."
"Ah, good morning. I hope I'm not blocking your view?" the tall girl inquired with a friendly smile.Saru Shang wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 1:52 pmShe drew her fan and did her best to integrate herself in, which mean weaving herself in to get a better standing spot. Heavens, she wasn't going to be watching the event by looking at someone's back. Who thought it was a good idea to have the tallest people in the front anyway? Heavens! The show could use a little more organization around here!
Status: 4.0 (possibly Togashi's Heir) Glory: 3.0 "It's good to see that some things don't change." Reo leans back on his stick, rocking slightly to keep the blood flowing. "I never completely understood Shinsei's choices on people, but they always seemed to work out."
