[D1, EN, Open] The Right Hand's Reception: Roleplay

[Yasuki Masaki]

.

Arai's face is one of mischief. "I can understand books and the wind, but why do we avoid birds? My nose is fine, far from being called a beak, thank you very much. That's fishy, at least." It is obvious that she jokes.

Next she listens to the Scorpion's words carefully. "Oh thank you, Soshi san. I have never been told before that I look as if washed away by the waves. So eloquently. You know how to flatter a lady, for sure." She keeps kidding and grins to make it obvious.

"Does that leave us with Soshi sama's attire, my banned words and Yasuki sama's description?" she seems playfully pensive for a few heartbeats. "Please, use books, fish and birds, if I'm allowed to play around the rules."

The Carp's smile widens, just a bit, as the Soshi tackles to the challenge. That Arai seems to like the game and his answer, going a step further to taunt them both, widens it even more.

"I was thinking wings, grace, or feathers, Doji-san - but poems mentioning egrets' beaks are not unheard of, ne?", she says with a soft, almost silent chuckle hidden behind her fan.

Her eyes then shift back to the Scorpion as she considers her own challenge.

"Soshi-san... I suppose you could say he is like a living book - each piece of clothing a page, each layer a story. The outermost one coloured as the last moments of a day's setting sun, as if reflected on the scales of a flying fish - as ready to take you by surprise with its tale as the tobiuo with its jumps! The first inner layer, meanwhile, displays the black wisdom of a raven, but the power of a goshawk - a tale fit to draw one's curiosity, one might say. The red, fanged mask seems to be a mystery tale all in itself, of course. Maybe menacing, at first glance - but perhaps it's meant for others to not judge the book by its cover?" The last words are said almost theatrically, followed by a long pause... and then by a small grin.

"I suppose if not for the teeth-like adornments, one might call it reminiscent of the beak of a bird, though. A tiger shrike, perhaps? Or a bird of prey?"

----
OOC: Sorry for the LONG delay, started this answer this morning, had some issues to access the forum again, then took me a long time to get back in the headspace for it!

[Hiruma Daichi]

"I woukd appreciate that Hiruma-sama. As lovely as court is, we do need to get down to business."

He took a sip of sake. "Are your nikutai taking care of your men whike you are away?"

Kenji nodded; he'd pass along the man's name when he next wet with his cousins. It was an easy enough task, and didn't call for him to be wrapped up in a game full of numbers. Even if blunt talk could be of some use there.

"Yes, they are good samurai, so they'll see it done well." He answered with a nod. "And it will be good practice for them too. One or both could rise to Gunso one day." Especially if he sought out a different position in the near future.

[Agasha Yuna]

"I feel sure there is a story there! I'd be glad to hear it, if it is one that you do not mind sharing."

"Oh, there's, there's little enough to it," Kichinitonda stammers out. "It, it was a schoolboy foul-up, nothing, nothing more. Just working on, on a mixture and, and it got a little, er, excited. Literally, literally blew up in my face. Took weeks to grow my, my eyebrows back. Got a classmate that caught, caught a piece of the container. His, his finger still doesn't, doesn't work right."

She smiled gently at the story.

"Ah, these things happen. I am sorry for your classmate, though. Hopefully it was not a finger rigorously important to his craft or duty."

"Though it is the nature of schooling, and life, that - whatever happens - our assignments are then evolved to match our capability. No loss or accident can prevent an honorable life of service if we are content to serve in the ways we are currently able."

[Mirumoto Kichinitonda]

She smiled gently at the story.

"Ah, these things happen. I am sorry for your classmate, though. Hopefully it was not a finger rigorously important to his craft or duty."

"Though it is the nature of schooling, and life, that - whatever happens - our assignments are then evolved to match our capability. No loss or accident can prevent an honorable life of service if we are content to serve in the ways we are currently able."

"He, he ended up being the, the top graduate of his year," Kichinitonda says. "Even, even competed in the, er, Topaz Championship."

Kichinitonda nods, then stops.

"I wonder what, what, um, balance he has for, for that."

[Soshi Eiji]

.

Arai's face is one of mischief. "I can understand books and the wind, but why do we avoid birds? My nose is fine, far from being called a beak, thank you very much. That's fishy, at least." It is obvious that she jokes.

Next she listens to the Scorpion's words carefully. "Oh thank you, Soshi san. I have never been told before that I look as if washed away by the waves. So eloquently. You know how to flatter a lady, for sure." She keeps kidding and grins to make it obvious.

"Does that leave us with Soshi sama's attire, my banned words and Yasuki sama's description?" she seems playfully pensive for a few heartbeats. "Please, use books, fish and birds, if I'm allowed to play around the rules."

The Carp's smile widens, just a bit, as the Soshi tackles to the challenge. That Arai seems to like the game and his answer, going a step further to taunt them both, widens it even more.

"I was thinking wings, grace, or feathers, Doji-san - but poems mentioning egrets' beaks are not unheard of, ne?", she says with a soft, almost silent chuckle hidden behind her fan.

Her eyes then shift back to the Scorpion as she considers her own challenge.

"Soshi-san... I suppose you could say he is like a living book - each piece of clothing a page, each layer a story. The outermost one coloured as the last moments of a day's setting sun, as if reflected on the scales of a flying fish - as ready to take you by surprise with its tale as the tobiuo with its jumps! The first inner layer, meanwhile, displays the black wisdom of a raven, but the power of a goshawk - a tale fit to draw one's curiosity, one might say. The red, fanged mask seems to be a mystery tale all in itself, of course. Maybe menacing, at first glance - but perhaps it's meant for others to not judge the book by its cover?" The last words are said almost theatrically, followed by a long pause... and then by a small grin.

"I suppose if not for the teeth-like adornments, one might call it reminiscent of the beak of a bird, though. A tiger shrike, perhaps? Or a bird of prey?"

----
OOC: Sorry for the LONG delay, started this answer this morning, had some issues to access the forum again, then took me a long time to get back in the headspace for it!

The Soshi had been slightly caught off-guard by the Crane's response, there'd been a bit more bite to it than he'd been expecting, but not so much his mask couldn't handle it.

But Egret Beak.

That needed not just a fan but a cough behind the fan lest he risk actually laughing aloud. He nearly missed her own description of him which would have been a shame because it WAS brilliant.

He paused long enough to make sure he could trust his own voice.

"I cannot speak for Doji-san, but from my standpoint, Yasuki-san is the clear winner in this game." he conceeded.

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"That's not very ambitious of you, Shiba-san, is it? A gentleman can be well-rounded," Shinnosuke points out, arching a brow. Many would say he must be, really.

"Ah, yes, Doji-san, but when one is a young, untested bushi, trained in staff work, one must prioritize one's rounding-out a bit..."

"Well, there's no time like the present," Shinnosuke says, gray-blue eyes positively sparkling. "Why send a young, ambitious staff officer to the Empress's winter court if not to get better rounded? I trust I'll see you at all our cultural events."

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Well, there's no time like the present," Shinnosuke says, gray-blue eyes positively sparkling. "Why send a young, ambitious staff officer to the Empress's winter court if not to get better rounded? I trust I'll see you at all our cultural events."

"I certainly don't intend to deny myself a chance to experience Crane artistry."

He tapped his fan on his chin again.

"I'm far too selfish for that!"

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"Well, there's no time like the present," Shinnosuke says, gray-blue eyes positively sparkling. "Why send a young, ambitious staff officer to the Empress's winter court if not to get better rounded? I trust I'll see you at all our cultural events."

"I certainly don't intend to deny myself a chance to experience Crane artistry."

He tapped his fan on his chin again.

"I'm far too selfish for that!"

"Good! We artists live and die upon such selfishness as that." Shinnosuke grins behind his half-opened fan. "Speaking of which, Shiba-san, I'm charged with speaking to as many people as I can this evening. I suspect you may be too, bushi though you are. We might continue this conversation another time, though?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Good! We artists live and die upon such selfishness as that." Shinnosuke grins behind his half-opened fan. "Speaking of which, Shiba-san, I'm charged with speaking to as many people as I can this evening. I suspect you may be too, bushi though you are. We might continue this conversation another time, though?"

"Absolutely, Doji-san- perhaps tomorrow at some point, or perhaps the day after..."

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"Good! We artists live and die upon such selfishness as that." Shinnosuke grins behind his half-opened fan. "Speaking of which, Shiba-san, I'm charged with speaking to as many people as I can this evening. I suspect you may be too, bushi though you are. We might continue this conversation another time, though?"

"Absolutely, Doji-san- perhaps tomorrow at some point, or perhaps the day after..."

"Perfect! You know where to find me, and I you. Unless you've taken up lodgings somewhere unlikely in the city?" Shinnosuke waves off this possibility as improbable, though.

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Perfect! You know where to find me, and I you. Unless you've taken up lodgings somewhere unlikely in the city?" Shinnosuke waves off this possibility as improbable, though.

"I could hardly decline the gracious hospitality of my mother's birth family, could I?"

[Asako Kenichi]

Kenji nodded; he'd pass along the man's name when he next wet with his cousins. It was an easy enough task, and didn't call for him to be wrapped up in a game full of numbers. Even if blunt talk could be of some use there.

"Yes, they are good samurai, so they'll see it done well." He answered with a nod. "And it will be good practice for them too. One or both could rise to Gunso one day." Especially if he sought out a different position in the near future.

"Certainly sounds like it, and training uo the next generation is an important task."

He drank a cup finally. "Besides your work and duties, is there something you occupy your time with Hiruma-sama?"

[Matsu Masumi]

A quick, amused, shake of the head, "No no...or at least not that I know of! Folks higher up may have reviewed the guest lists and started pairing everyone up for all I know, but that seems a bit extreme, doesn't it?" Her head tilts, lips pressed in thought. "I mean, unless you're just the bow tying up a treaty or trade agreement, there's more thought to matching temperaments and the like. Benten blesses happy matches, but her miracles of blessing wild mashups are rather rare."

There's a careful glance to see that no Imperial sorts are in earshot...not that it would keep tales from spreading. "We certainly have a suitable match in clan somewhere, if that's what you're looking for. Or...if that's how you're set to serve the delegation, I suppose."

"I imagine those serving the Emerald Office are best suited with a spouse set to manage their household, yes?" She's no nakodo, but a reception isn't the place for the sort of detailed interrogation they tended toward in any case.

"Extreme to us, not so much to people with much more political leanings." Speaking to the kami and speaking through ones weaponry (or fists in Masumi's case) was much different from a courtier's way of life. The mention of Benten made her squirm ever so slightly. "If I am a bow, as you put it, then that is how it shall be." A faint smile spread on her lips. "I will do my best to be an appealing one." And many would say she did well at that, at least for a Matsu.

Marriage to a Crane... How detestable. But not the worst option out there. "My future spouse may expect me to be more... active in my search. Instead I am passive. It will come when it will come." She couldn't manage a smile at that point. Instead she glanced about the room, realizing that she had lost her original mark.

"I concur," Masumi said absent-mindedly. "It has been a pleasant chat. Unfortunately I must attend to other matters." Her smile, her usual charm, quickly returned. "Yoriki business. I'm certain you understand, Asahina-sama." That wasn't entirely a lie... Her biases led her to believe that watching the usual suspects could lead to discovering misdeeds.

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OOC: I think with D3 already impending that we can call it there! Another thread soon would be lovely though.

[Hiruma Daichi]

He drank a cup finally. "Besides your work and duties, is there something you occupy your time with Hiruma-sama?"

"I do a bit or carving." He admitted after a moment. "And I enjoy a good hunt if time and the seasons allow. That doesn't happen all too often though." Hunting as part of your duties just didn't count as a Hunt.

"I tend to be busy much of the time currently. But what of you Asako-san, anything in particular you enjoy doing?"

[Doji Arai]

snip

Snip

The Crane is probably more loosened up that she has been for the whole day. It could be the alcohol, the atmosphere or the good company. Whichever the reason she smirks while listening and nods from time to time.

"Well if it is a competition, I will have to accept Yasuki sama's absolute victory. If it is not one, I am inclined to say that you and I are the actual winners, Soshi san." She comments but doesn't explain her words further.