The Day of Thunder

[Jiyo Sora]

The day dawned with plenty of mayhem and misery, but Sora had some business to attend to at the camp.

Namely seeing a nezumi about some names.

And a stick.

[Chuchu]

Chu's sleepin' in a tent for once, and, upon hearing Sora's voice, a tiny nose sticks out from under the blankets she's nesting in. It can't be morning already...

[Jiyo Sora]

"Sorry if I woke you, little friend, but the day's kicking off, and I have one last little thing I would have done before we get down to business."

He hunkered down and smiled.

His armor was covered with Rokugani characters Chuchu may or may not have been able to read, and he'd also done up his face and hands with ink in more of the same.

The overall effect was a bit strange-looking, but he had clearly deemed it suitable war paint.

[Chuchu]

The overall effect was a bit strange-looking, but he had clearly deemed it suitable war paint.

It's only strange to her in its execution; when her little head pops out, dark eyes focus first on the symbols, trying to read them. It's so unlike her people's, and yet so familiar it makes her heart ache.

"Business?" She echos. Sitting up, Chu starts rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

[Jiyo Sora]

It's only strange to her in its execution; when her little head pops out, dark eyes focus first on the symbols, trying to read them. It's so unlike her people's, and yet so familiar it makes her heart ache.

"Business?" She echos. Sitting up, Chu starts rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Two things."

He reached to the back of his obi and produced... a stick.

"That story I told you in the dream? I believe it's on this. I'd like you to have it, at least for the day. A reminder of what's possible. The other..."

He gestured to his armor, and then to his face.

"It dawns on me you might be able to make all of this... mean more."

[Chuchu]

"It dawns on me you might be able to make all of this... mean more."

Her whole body perks at the revelation of a memory stick. Oh! Oh! Little hands reach out to grab the treasure for examination, and she presses her nose to the wood, catching flashes of the collective memory from its scent. Half-dazed she looks back up to Sora.

It shifts something within her. She flickers. Her fur's once again taken on the hazy, slow-moving psychadelic quality it had in the first dream they shared -- but flashes of past lives overlay themselves upon the one speaking to Sora, their eyes shining.

"Everything you need is already within yourself," A thousand voices answer. "Dream and reality have entwined to create a moment where anything is possible. You already had the cleverness to paint yourself with names, Chasing Tomorrow. Now tell me, what do those names mean to you?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Everything you need is already within yourself," A thousand voices answer. "Dream and reality have entwined to create a moment where anything is possible. You already had the cleverness to paint yourself with names, Chasing Tomorrow. Now tell me, what do those names mean to you?"

"They are who I fight for. Masked, in case I fall. I would not give their names to the enemy. Not the ones they actually use."

He started indicating some of them.

"My wife. My children. The Emperor. White Moonrise."

He moved from the names on the armor the ones on his hands.

"This one is you."

Playful Rat

"This one is Nanzi Ai."

Shining Crane

"This one is Hisomu Tadaka."

New Man.

"And so forth. I first did this twenty years ago, on the journey South. The need seemed great enough to do it again."

[Chuchu]

"And so forth. I first did this twenty years ago, on the journey South. The need seemed great enough to do it again."

"It is." She smiles. Tomorrow is decided today, after all. "You have told me their literal meaning, Chasing Tomorrow, but why did you paint them upon your skin? What purpose does it serve you?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"It is." She smiles. Tomorrow is decided today, after all. "You have told me their literal meaning, Chasing Tomorrow, but why did you paint them upon your skin? What purpose does it serve you?"

"I was alone for the first twenty or so years of my life. I am not alone now. And it's good to carry that. I am more because of them."

[Chuchu]

"I was alone for the first twenty or so years of my life. I am not alone now. And it's good to carry that. I am more because of them."

Smart man. "Would you say, then, that you carry their futures with you?"

[Jiyo Sora]

Smart man. "Would you say, then, that you carry their futures with you?"

He chuckled.

"Not as much as the Thunders will today, but... yes, to a point. To the best I am able."

[Chuchu]

"Not as much as the Thunders will today, but... yes, to a point. To the best I am able."

"To the People, that is a form of magic." Grooming herself, Chu runs her fingers over the whiskers that have sprouted in the dreaming and through her hair, doing her best to make herself presentable, now that she's up. "We shamans paint ourselves and our warriors with Name. The act of doing so connects one to something greatly greater than themself, not just in body and mind but in spirit spirit. You connect your Name to the Names of others and you can draw upon their power, and they your own."

She starts to braid her hair, watching him, curious to see where he will take her words.

[Jiyo Sora]

""We shamans paint ourselves and our warriors with Name. The act of doing so connects one to something greatly greater than themself, not just in body and mind but in spirit spirit. You connect your Name to the Names of others and you can draw upon their power, and they your own."

She starts to braid her hair, watching him, curious to see where he will take her words.

"Then I might want more."

He started rolling up his left sleeve.

[Wu Zhe]

There was an knock

A knock on a tent...produced by the bronze butt of a spear against one of the poles

''Ahem...Jiyo-sama?''

[Jiyo Sora]

tag

"Hm?"

He glanced over and nearly did a double-take.

Wu Zhe in the Imperial Camp?

It really was the end of the world!

[Wu Zhe]

The dragon peered inside the tent, carrying a scroll in his hand, finally spotting the nezumi

''Ah! Chuchu-sama! A good thing you are here too I...erm...I am not interrupting anything?''

[Chuchu]

''Ah! Chuchu-sama! A good thing you are here too I...erm...I am not interrupting anything?''

The shaman flickers through a few more lives as she regards Wu Zhe. "Just Chu for now." She briefly turns to dig through her things and soon settles a mortar and pestle in her lap, Chu pouring in liquid and herbs. "I am help helping him prepare for the storm. Are you in need of help helping, too?"

[Wu Zhe]

''Well'' the dragon looked embarassed ''You are a shaman, yes? Can you officiate a wedding?''

As he asked he gave a scroll to Sora

''The offer of protection from the Wu to the citizen of the village...accepted by Dai Lu...Chouri''

[Jiyo Sora]

"Seems to be a day for Names."

Sora took the scroll and read it over.

"The Wu family will encounter no opposition from the Imperial Families in this matter. And I know Wu would be proud of you, kid."

[Wu Dai Lu]

''Well'' the dragon looked embarassed ''You are a shaman, yes? Can you officiate a wedding?''

As he asked he gave a scroll to Sora

''The offer of protection from the Wu to the citizen of the village...accepted by Dai Lu...Chouri''

As if on cue, Chouri approached shyly behind him and bowed to Sora and Chu.