The Day of Thunder

[Ryoshun Yukara]

Yukara grimaced, but nodded. "If you would like. My dream was... unpleasant, but simple. Initially, it was not so different from my usual nightmares. I was drowning."

Seeming to take his move as invitation, she leaned against his shoulder with her left side now, which hurt substantially less. "The twist last night was that the river became an... ocean, I believe it is called. And then that ocean was replaced with a veritable ocean of wolves - all teeth and fur and fangs. I felt as though I were being dismembered, as though my body was being rent apart into the smallest fragments."

Glancing at her right shoulder, she noted. "Knowing what I do now, I suppose I can hazard a guess at the nightmare's inspiration."

Glancing back up at his face, she wrinkled her nose. The smell of the pipe was... different. She did not have a strong feeling about it, it was simply alien to her.

So she simply inquired, 'Your dream, then?"

[Bayushi Norikage]

"Everyone died, the whole village, the commoners and nobles. Everyone."

He glared ahead, eyes focusing slightly more, losing their tired dullness for a moment.

"I've never had that dream before. Never had that fear before."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Ah. I have had the experience of villages gone mad - of having to deal with the aftermath, but never people I knew. That must have been... awful."

She did not pull away, offering what little comfort she could with her presence. "What happened next?"

[Bayushi Norikage]

"Honestly I don't know", he said looking up at the cold sky, pipe to his mouth. "The experience is there, but I don't really know what it means. I was going to talk to...", he glanced at her. "Rock-sensei", he said amusedly. "See if he can help."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

She gave him a slightly cheeky smile at that. Apparently she knew he was poking fun, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"I see. If not, I still owe you a lullaby one of these days, do I not?" That wry smile didn't give away what she was thinking, but she added, "If all else fails, we can chase bad dreams away with my warbling voice."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"I would die for a world where that's all it took", he saidz not realizing how much he wasn't joking.

[Ryoshun Yukara]

She chuckled at that, and gave a slight lean in, pushing his side, and offered, "I am willing to try, if nothing else. I would rather you not die for it - then you would not be here to enjoy it. I have survived, and now I must ask you to do the same."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"Hey now", he chuckled. "Are you going to start purring and paw at my kimono or something?"

[Ryoshun Yukara]

She nudged him with her arm, pretending to be offended. "Maybe I would have, but I will not now."

With an exaggerated pout, she added, "I received a draft that is meant to fortify mind and body - if you need, I am happy to share it with you to help you rest tonight. It is not good to go too long without proper rest, and I have always been good at nodding off when I choose. You clearly need it, if you are going to tease so cruelly."

Apart from last night, but she figured she had an excuse for that one.

[Bayushi Norikage]

"Forgive the immediate acceptance, as I don't question your sincerity, and also don't question my absolute tired, but...yes."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Why would I be upset by you accepting what I offer in good faith?"

It seemed she did not know about the game of refusals.

"If it can help you, I will gladly share it. We are here to work together, to try and defeat an ephemeral foe. Even were I not intrigued by you, I would offer..."

As if realizing what she said, she clammed up, and added, "I will give it to you when we are back in camp."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"I haven't been sleeping in camp", he reminded her. "I'm at a villager's house. Maybe we can meet after the gathering at Chouri-san's." He thought about it a little more. "No, save it for later, actually. I have a feeling what we've been going through isn't the worst of it."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

She did know that, but she assumed he'd come by the camp at some point... She furrowed her brow. "If you are certain... I will keep it for you, when you do decide you need it."

Sitting up straight, she scratched the bridge of her nose with her left hand, the motion clumsy but already her body began adapting - it might remember the missing arm for months, or even years, but the constant demands of the moment would push her to adjust, no matter what she felt.

"I had a strange thought that maybe Shimizu would have been the cause of the sickness I was fighting... but I realize that was naive. This illness spread over the entire world - how could it be resolved so easily?"

It was frustrating to do give up so much and still have more dangers to face. "I wish I still had my strength to stand by my new friends and protect them... but I do not. So I offer what help I can in facing what is yet to come, for whatever that may be worth."

As if something occurred to her, she inquired, "Do you know how to meditate? It can help you sleep, you know, when nightmares will not leave you be."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"It's not exactly a discipline I practice, but I know it", he answered. "Time to make it work is the biggest issue usually."

He frowned slightly and puffed smoke. "You know, even when things are tough, you can still defend yourself. Spirit is what matters in the end. Someone without that doesn't even have the courage to stand and fight."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Ah. Well... if you would like instruction, I am at least trained in the art."

She chewed her lip, turning thoughts over in silence, before continuing, "I would not ask others to endanger themselves protecting me - until I am confident in my abilities, I will not risk getting someone else hurt."

Watching the smoke puff as it drifted away, she added, softly, "I would not just lie down and die were I in danger, but I also do not wish to be a liability - I do not want more blood on my hands." She lifted her knees, hugging them to her chest with her arm. "What do you think of this feast and this village? I am confused by how... unconcerned... these villagers are. I have not experienced such a carelessness to danger before."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"It is quite confusing", Norikage agreed. "Sometimes the people here almost don't seem real, being so cooped up in their own little place."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"I have seen villages gone mad. I have never seen them gone... serene." The statement sounded somewhat ridiculous, but it was the best she could say. "It is eerie."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"But...at the same time...", he shook his head, actually frustrated by what he was about to say. "I was told that Shinsei made it a point to warn us not to be so suspicious or paranoid about this place."

He sighed. "It does seem like a distraction, in a way. Which tells me we should be looking at other things."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Yes, i guess I do not know what to make of them. I am not suspicious, just... confused."

Resting her chin on her knee, tucked up into a ball, she did have a certain feline aspect, as she muttered, "Regardless, it does us no good to sit and stew, does it? I cannot heal if I spend my time weeping for lost limbs, and we cannot solve mysteries if we only sit and fret. I just wish that I had some clue what else I could do..."

Her gaze fixed on the ground in front of her, as she turned over the situation in her mind, and then she inquired, "Do you think, after this is all done, I might visit your home town, and Beiden pass?"

It was an odd change of subject, but she was still a little rattled despite her best efforts, and the cracks sometimes were showing.

[Bayushi Norikage]

"I don't see why not, it would be nice to have a visitor", he replied and puffed his pipe. "As to investigating though, are you sneaky?"