The Day of Thunder

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

Ayako licked her lips thoughtfully, as if to taste the air.

"I mean, the fog tastes all right," the younger woman commented. "It would taste bad if it were corrupted, right?"

"Right...?" This was about as much as Ayako understood of the elements, and she started to look concerned.

[Kaiu Tai]

Ayako licked her lips thoughtfully, as if to taste the air.

"I mean, the fog tastes all right," the younger woman commented. "It would taste bad if it were corrupted, right?"

"Right...?" This was about as much as Ayako understood of the elements, and she started to look concerned.

Tai shrugs. "With these nightmare things? Maybe it'd taste like your grannie's festival stew just to remind you she's dead. Or the dust of a rockfall. Or completely normal till it blisters your lips." Why yes, her own dreams had been utterly charming of late.

"But not breathin' ain't an option, so..." she shrugs again, continuing to walk toward where the village ought to be. "we trust we're strong enough to manage if it's not normal."

[Anjing]

"Keep your jade close if you have it and focus on eachother and the memories. Grounding yourself might help, we've dealt with worse."
Anjing gives the fog a glare as if the swirling clouds were picking a fight.

"There will be other foreign samurai than Ranmaru here, they might have some idea about how we can protect ourselves. If not...we will deal with it."
She does her best to project simple confidence as they continue.

[Kaiu Takuma]

"Well, may need to pull a jade stub or two off my tetsubo to keep on my person." Takuma looked at his tetuso for a minute. "I'm thinking there will be times where having such a weapon would be looked down on."

[Anjing]

"Well, may need to pull a jade stub or two off my tetsubo to keep on my person." Takuma looked at his tetuso for a minute. "I'm thinking there will be times where having such a weapon would be looked down on."

"Better to have a jade studded club and not need it, then need a jade studded club and not have it. With the monsters abroad in the empire I'd think most would be glad to see one around."

[Kaiu Tai]

"Who'd object to it?" Tai grumbles. "Maybe if you're meetin' the emperor...after all that nonsense a bit back with demons or somesuch in the court. Probably don't trust folks he doesn't know well with their weapons nearby, neh?"

[Saru Ranmaru]

"Yep. If it's corrupted fog, well...been breathin' it for a while now so we're a bit fucked."

"Aren't you a bit matronly to be cursing like that?" Ranmaru asked, less accusatory and more shocked.

"But yeah, there's not much for us to do at this point. I'd say the greatest danger is not the fog itself but what it may hide." He readjusted his daisho dangling by his side and smiled... for only a moment. "I should have brought some jade."

[Kaiu Tai]

Tai keeps walking, seeming for a long moment as if she'll ignore the ridiculous boy. Finally..."Ain't you a been dropped on your head too often to be let out on your own?," she says in the same slightly shocked tone.

In her usual growl she adds, "like there's an age limit on words...what sort of ideas are the Saru brewing up these days? Does your mom know you're this rude to your elders?" There's a loud 'hmmph' and a grudging, "not wrong about what the fog can hide, though. Ears are as important as eyes here."

[Saru Ranmaru]

Tai keeps walking, seeming for a long moment as if she'll ignore the ridiculous boy. Finally..."Ain't you a been dropped on your head too often to be let out on your own?," she says in the same slightly shocked tone.

In her usual growl she adds, "like there's an age limit on words...what sort of ideas are the Saru brewing up these days? Does your mom know you're this rude to your elders?" There's a loud 'hmmph' and a grudging, "not wrong about what the fog can hide, though. Ears are as important as eyes here."

"I'll have you know my mom held onto me quite well." Ranmaru shook his head. "Never dropped me or any of the other kids once." When mining was slow, she did help out by looking after other children. Of course, she had her son go around carrying things.

"Not an age limit, no. It's just not very ladylike to curse at all and I figured someone your age would have known that." He shrugged. "Could be the Crab are the odd ones and not the Saru." Thereafter, he thought about respect for elders and whatnot, which left him abashed for once. "I don't think I've been rude."

[Anjing]

snip

"But if a Lady" Anjing looks at Tai with a quarter grin. "Does it, then how can it not be ladylike? And how would you know anyway, do you define being a man as knowing a lot about women? Because if you do I may have bad news."

At least all this grumbling about strange dragons and fog was warming her up some, getting the blood pumping. It helped all the weirdness feel more real.

"As for rudeness. Also perhaps, bad news. But at least you have the sense to be concerned about it. How many summers have you seen anyway?"

[Kaiu Takuma]

Takuma looked over at the Dragon and then said to Tai aside, "That boy ain't right..."

Then he said plainly to Ranmaru, "I don't think you have been around the ladies of the Crab at all, have you? The tribes of the Crab don't have time for pleasantries. We are always working to defend the Empire. Everyone has they job to be done everyday. We are toughen to life in a strangle land."

[Hiruma Naraku]

Why was this backwater village in the middle of boondocks country beckoned him so much? Why had he decided to steer off his path to Spider lands to veer into this place? For the love of everything that is holy he could not explain the gut feeling he had felt that had urged him to walk straight into this particular village.

Naraku pondered, lost on his thoughts, before he spotted the parade just a stone throw away. He groaned, sinking his nails into his palm, what if they had been the enemy? Getting lost in thoughts provoked by a gut feeling was a sure way to get a personal tour of the contents of his innards. He approached the group, swallowing the toad and deciding to see why there were so many esteemed members of his clan in the middle of nowhere. "Minna-sama," his voice chilly and void of any pamper or emotion.

[Anjing]

Snip

Anjing blinks as the approaching shadow resolves into another Crab warrior....one of Hiruma's children she thought, if she recognised the face correctly. A strange vision, or the actual man himself?

"Greetings." She nods, on guard. "You're a long way from home, cousin."

She looks to the rest of the Crab to see if anyone else recognised the figure, hoping it was indeed another member of the Clan and not some vision of the fog.

[Saru Ranmaru]

Ranmaru's brow creased as he thought about the essence of womanhood. It was true that he did not live a life of a woman and would not deign to learn more about their bodily experiences. However, if women were so wrong that they needed a man to guide them...

"I wouldn't say men have to know a lot about women to be men," Ranmaru said, scratching the back of his head. He couldn't quite figure out how to put all his thoughts properly into words without being called rude again. Maybe that was a consequence of saying the truth but he had also told his mom that he'd try his best to speak more kindly.

"Err, well, your other question... twenty. And I can't say I've seen much of any Crab women before." He held up his hand, did a bit of a pincer movement, then dropped it. "But wait, are pleasantries supposed to be good or not with you?"

Well, then someone else showed up. Ranmaru thought nothing on it until it seemed like he wasn't part of Anjing's contingent. "Huh..."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"I can't say I've seen much of any Crab women before."

"At this rate, I can't say you will see much of any Crab women in the future, either!" Ayako huffed in irritation, before looking away again.

[Kaiu Takuma]

"Look kid," Saying that when he is 20 as well. The Dragon looked younger, and Takuma looked like he was 25 or older, with him dark tans calloused body. "We work to survive and defend our livelihood all day. We respect those who life the same way... It is the way of the Crab."

He looked toward the directions Anjing was looking. He straighten up his tetsubo to ready it for an attack. "I see he as well, Lady. Someone you are acquainted with?" As he relaxed his tetsubo a bit.

[Kaiu Tai]

"Tch, now Takuma, all this chatter's full of pleasantries. We're very pleasant. Just not fond of the folks who need to talk about wet the rain is, instead of steppin' in out of it so you can close the door." Tai watches the eddying of the fog as the group moves through it. She reflects Anjing's hint of a grin, despite her unease in this place, offering a not-remotely demure snort at 'lady.'

"Twenty summers." She shakes her head. "and I know kids with half the years and twice the sense." Relenting a bit, she adds, "but some are just a bit slow to bloom, I'm sure you'll find your way in time."

Her eyes are drawn immediately to the newcomer appearing in the fog. Her hand hasn't strayed far from her knife all this time, though she's really not sure what will happen if she calls upon the sluggish spirits here. "Assumin' it's not tricks of this place and this fog...there's at least somethin' familiar." She offers the young man a nod. "Not a great place for scoutin' here. Fog gets in the way. But there's safety in numbers, if you like."

[Hiruma Naraku]

Naraku approached the group warily, wading through the fog in order to better understand who is he seeing. His hand rests on the hilt of his sword, just in case the figures are not simply his clansmates but rather a less savory surprise.

Once he closes the gap, he stops and albeit his demeanor continues to be anything but warm, his hand leaves the hilt of his sword. Those that known might recognize him as Hiruma's son and those that might know him might have heard of his colorful fame.

His eyes dart to the motley crew before him, his eyes identifying the wife of his Clan champion before darting between the others, perhaps lingering a bit longer on Tai and perhaps his hand twitching and closing to his sword for the briefest moment before moving away and looking at the remainder of the people.

"I did not know I'd find so many of my own in this side of the Empire," he spoke in the same tone. "Specially not as esteemed as Anjing-sama." His words did not seem to be mockery; in fact Naraku seemed to be as humorous as a funeral.

[Anjing]

"And we didn't expect you, son of Hiruma." Anjing pauses for a moment before relaxing slightly, it seemed to be him and no illusion. Or if it was it had captured the dour Hiruma's mannerisms perfectly.

"There was a call to come to Blue Lotus Village to see what can be done about the madness and corruption spreading across the land. We answered, even Ranmaru. The road was long and hard but it always is, and now we are here." She gestures to all the Crab.

"What brings you here to what can charitably be described as the middle of nowhere? As you say, it is a strange place to meet wandering Crab these days."

[Hiruma Naraku]

Naraku couldn't help but smirk at Anjing's words. "Something similar," he said as he eyed the group. "I had been pursuing reports of corruption around the borderlands. Found a few. They were eager test subjects for my new concoctions," he dismisses any answer with a waive before continuing "Failures, they did not suffer half as much as I expected. Hardly as much fun as I expected. Bunch of country bumpkins riding high on the corruption... died far too fast for me to withdraw any meaningful conclusions."