The Day of Thunder

[Togashi Satsuki]

After working with Naraku, Satsuki needed a moment to come down and re-center herself.

While some soup slowly simmered over her campfire (shielded by a tent-flap jury-rigged to be a cover from the weather), she sat outside the tent and felt the humid weather against the bared skin of her arms. There was a lot to think about, but just the background noises of the camp, the smell of food cooking, the feeling of droplets on her skin... it satisfied the senses in a way that let her mind go and live just on those senses alone instead of churning multiple thoughts and possibilities in her mind


-----------

D4 MA Meditation/Void. +3TN from Wound Penalty | 6k3 ⇒ 24 (TN: 23)

Currently at 19 Wounds.

[Kaiu Tai]

After working with Naraku, Satsuki needed a moment to come down and re-center herself.

While some soup slowly simmered over her campfire (shielded by a tent-flap jury-rigged to be a cover from the weather), she sat outside the tent and felt the humid weather against the bared skin of her arms. There was a lot to think about, but just the background noises of the camp, the smell of food cooking, the feeling of droplets on her skin... it satisfied the senses in a way that let her mind go and live just on those senses alone instead of churning multiple thoughts and possibilities in her mind


-----------

D4 MA Meditation/Void. +3TN from Wound Penalty | 6k3 ⇒ 24 (TN: 23)

Currently at 19 Wounds.

Tai, on her way to the makeshift camp hospital, spots Satsuki and decides to check in there first. After all, she was one of those Ayako said had been in the fight. The priestess is a rather damp and bedraggled version of herself, but doesn't seem to mind it much. The bear cloak sheds a decent amount of water at least.

She pauses a bit outside the tent to call in. "You look to be in better shape than Ayako after the morning. How are you?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

She first became aware of the sound of wet boots in wet soil, that approached. Then the scent of earth, wet fur, and something else familiar. Then the sound of the older woman's voice. "Tai," she acknowledged softly at first, then opened her eyes, blinking slowly as she came out of her trance.

"Ah... it's thanks to Ayako I'm not in bad shape. The only blood I lost was to the kami today." Satsuki gestured for Tai to join her by the fire under cover of the tent-flap that had been staked up to create a makeshift roof. "Ayako and Matsu. They put their lives on the line to protect us. I'm just glad they survived it. As for me, I feel... exhausted? Maybe it was the emergency of the situation this morning, but I finally for the first time got the water kami to respond to me and heal them. I just didn't know it would be so exhausting."

[Kaiu Tai]

Tai nods once in satisfaction. "Sounds like Ayako was a solid bulwark for those she was protectin'. She should be proud of the work she did." Matsu too, but she was daimyo, and a bit of a legend, and that was just expected at this point."

She nods again in understanding, then squats to put herself at about the same height. She looks into the Dragon's eyes, and reaches to lay a finger across the thin pulse point at her wrist. "Well the soup there'll help, you're a bit depleted. Remember that the wounds are just an outward sign of what we give the spirits. We drain our spirits and internal energies as well."

Her own hand is crossed with fresh cuts, shallow but noticeable, with more along the back of her wrist. "Hold your arms out like so, and let me see what I can do here." She demonstrates, arms wide and palms up before slicing rather deeply into the pad of her thumb. There's a moment of looking up into the rain with a quite murmur that blends in with the constant drops before she presses the bloody thumb against Satsuki's left wrist, right wrist, and the center of her chest at heart height. The younger shugenja can feel the rush of energy...so much more noticeable when things are so depleted.

The rain slashes sideways, though there's no other sign of wind, hard enough to wash most of those fresh bits of blood away...and all of her small cuts and scrapes as well.


D4 MA: Medicine check, Void for skill | 4k3 ⇒ 28 (TN: 15)

D4 MA: Medicine check, and the wounds healed from medicine | 1k1 ⇒ 2
D4 MA: PTiP for Satsuki | 5k3 ⇒ 40 (TN: 10)

D4 MA: Rejuvenating Vapors for Satsuki. | 5k3 ⇒ 31 (TN: 15)
D4 MA: Rejuvenating vapors for herself. | 5k3 ⇒ 21 (TN: 15)

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Ayako was amazing. She should be very proud, even if she is so humble about it," Satsuki remarked, unafraid of praising the warrior who was even younger than she was. And Satsuki still felt pretty young compared to many who had come here!

She nodded to Tai's reminders, and didn't protest her directions, holding out her arms for her to see. The dragon tattooed on her arm, coiling down to her hand, looked even prettier with raindrops scattered across it like its scales were shimmering. Despite the ordeals of this morning, her heartbeat and pulse was steady, and contrary to what the weather would want, Satsuki felt warm to the touch. As Tai administered her attentions, she made sure to steady her breath to keep the Kaiu shaman fresh and sharp as well.

And then... the water kami decided to dunk on her once more, like last time Tai had healed her. This time more intensely than before, and she scrunched up her face from the splash of rainwater on her face. At least she hadn't been soaked through, and would dry up soon enough, but still. Pesky water. That was almost like a bucket from Ko.

"You continue to astound me, Tai." Lowering her arms, Satsuki inspected the complete restoration to her body. "You remind me so much of my sensei, you know. Strong with earth, and full of surprises. Also very sensible."

----

D4 MA Still Alive. To The Last Breath kiho for Tai | 6k3 ⇒ 23 (TN: 15). +1VP for Tai

[Kaiu Tai]

Tai chuckles. "Well, I'll take that as a complement as you seem well-taught... also sensible for one so young. Well, other than waitin' five whole years to finish courtin' the one your eye's set on. Or so I hear!"

She shakes her head. "Though I don't know what's up with the water spirits bein' so eager to soak you. I'm not usually able to call them up so strong, but with all the fog here..." she gestures out toward the forest, "and now rain, I guess water's happy to listen to anyone." Wrapping a cloth around her fresh wound, she gestures with the bent elbow in Satsuki's direction. "pretty tattoos. I see 'em here and there on those tradin' from your side of the mountain. Elsewhere too, but the art seems to have really gotten extra elaborate with the Dragon. Somethin' new, or did one of the tribes that settled with you have some tradition?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Yes, yes! It's very much a compliment. Nadare-sensei is very skilled and clever." And also very sane, as he says. Her smile didn't manage to hide her embarrassment. "Uh... I am... patient as the stone?" Maybe that one would work to avoid a bop on the head.

"Maybe the water kami are just eager to put out a fire? I've always been told I have too much fire... or it's payback for all the times I accidentally made fires as a youth." Not unusual for young shugenja to not fully control their abilities, or simply being young and foolish as they set fire to something they shouldn't because the kami told them it would be fun.

As Tai remarked on her tattoos, Satsuki instinctively lifted her arm again, to show it off a bit more. "Oh... these are from dad. I know some tribes who joined us would also paint or tattoo themselves, a practice they still keep, but many do it because of Togashi. He has these amazing tattoos all over his bodies, they're like magical pictures. And his students have them too. It's like, hmmm... a reflection of who we are? Like, I have a dragon here, because I am a dragon!"

[Kaiu Tai]

She laughs again. "Both of you are, it seems. At least you're finally gettin' around to it." Settling on her heels lets her look up at the Dragon. "Could be. The spirits recognize kindred souls, and the opposite, pretty well."

The tattoo is examined in more detail. "Really is amazin' Still just uses somethin' sharp to tap in the color though? It's not actually paintin' skin with magic?" because that certainly seemed possible. Another chuckle, "I suppose that would be a popular one among the Dragon. Maybe mountains as well?"

Her expression sobers a bit as she considers the morning's work. "Anyone fill you in on what some of us found out at the mines this mornin'?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Getting around to it when we got the fate of the world hanging in balance, guess we needed that push," she admitted with a laugh. Certainly, with the way things were, it did put little things like that into perspective.

As Tai looked closer, Satsuki held out her arm to allow for further examination. After all, her father's work was exquisite. "Yes, it's done with needles and colored ink, at least this one, but there are different techniques for doing it in various ways. And well, I'm not going to say that there isn't some magic in how my dad does it, but that is his secret... not even I know how he does it." Smiling, she pressed her index finger against her own lips in the common sign of a secret.

The change in topic sobers her as well. "I knew there was going to be another expedition to that dreamstone mine, but I haven't heard yet what was discovered today. Hopefully a way to purify or seal it off?"

[Kaiu Tai]

"Well the place was jade once, Tae-soo saw that pretty clear. It'll take more jade to purify it, and quite a bit of ritual work, but it can be done. Won't help if there's still corruption bleedin' through, though. The earth says the dream realm can be locked away too." She rummages in her sack a bit, withdrawing a slip of paper with words scratched rather crudely onto it. "The die is cast and the veil melts away... The dream and the real will overlap... but dreams may be bound away into legend... leaving only the land..."

As she tucks it away, she adds, "and the diagrams seem to do somethin' like that. It'll take more study, but hopefully we can figure that out. You saw those scrolls, right?" She was pretty sure Satsuki being part of the original group had been mentioned somewhere.