Sonome

Tavern

Tarou visibly cringes as Mana makes her joking remark about his hygiene and makes a somewhat determined, yet clearly embarrassed expression. "Th-That won't be a problem during our travels. I'll bathe at every opportunity." he assures. "Speaking of, if this meeting is finished, I'm going to go take care of that n-...nehehhehee...!"" His statement is cut off as turns into laughing as he feels the sensation of warm air tickling him, and he lightly hugs his sides a bit to try and quell it. "H-H-Hey now...! Stop that!" he says, continuing to laugh.

Meanwhile, Yoshiki merely looks around at everyone as they talk. When Mana looks at him, seemingly ready for his input, he smiles. "I think they're all good. As long as Mr. Samurai takes a bath first."

Tarou, eventually manages to calm himself down, and gives something of a sheepish nod. "He will, rest assured." He says, his gaze drawn to the door of the tavern. "...Hmm...? What on earth...?"

Yoshiki looks over to the door as well, and he looks mystified as he sees Hime. "Ooh! Horse lady!" He says, pointing in surprise.

---

Date's Domain

Date lets out a deep guffaw, palming his fist and making the soot covering him more or less explode off his body in a black puff before it dissipates. "It was pretty nice, yes. I can't decide which I enjoy more, hot water baths or magma ones, though." He stands, retrieving the blade Kokoro crafted from the ground. "The primary reason I asked for a fight was to test Kokoro's sword here. But, even if we did go a bit beyond that..." he trails off, turning to Kokoro and offering the sword back to her. "It's been smithed expertly, in my professional opinion. Your talent continues to impress." he says with a smile.

He pauses for a moment, stroking his bearded chin briefly as he seems to think about another matter, looking at the group collectively. "More importantly, I hope you all got some enjoyment out of that, at least. Honing ones craft is important, but you all are still very young...I don't want you to forget to make time for laughter, and just being kids in general."

Old habits die hard, especially when no one else lets them die either.

Sonome Village, Blacksmith's Hut, Date's Domain

Kokoro took the sword happily at the praise, bowing deeply in front of Date, deciding to not comment on the magma bath comment "Thank you for the praise, Master. Yet I still have much to learn. It ould be boasting if I were to say that weapons are my forte" As he gave her the weapon, Kokoro held it shortly beofre looking over to Date "Will my training now commence, Master?" Upon hearing the last comment, Kokoro fell silent shortly

Sonome Village, Outside the Tavern

Hime bowed towards the group, if she had a particular reaction tobeing called "Horse Lady" she hid it rather well as her face merely showed politeness "Greetings." She eyed the group shortly, giving a slight smile as she did so.

edited 14th Feb '18 4:53:37 AM by Sergey_Smirnov

"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"

Sonome

Tavern

Tenzo makes a small smile when Sasuke declares he'll go with them no matter what. He sits up as Mana answers his question, his interest piqued. "So we're looking for a lost artifact? That sounds like something I'd like to see." He looks to Tarou as he takes his turn, chuckling as he watches him being tickled again. "I'm sure he will..." He trails off in regards to Tarou's hygiene, looking away to hide a slight blush.

Tavern

Sasuke simply nods his acknowledgement back to Mana, a slight smirk on his lips. This evolves into a laugh at Tarou's reaction to his wind and forms a hand out of hard light, which rests on top of the green haired man's, his wind moving on to tickle their blushing student.

He turns his head toward Hime, nodding his head in greeting, "Hello. I think you're called a mermaid, right?" he asks, trying to remember the exact term from his journeys to the west.

"I'm as free as the dust in the solar wind."

Sonome

Tavern

Mana looks between everyones comments and statements and simply nods to each slowly in a quiet agreement. A prideful look upon her face at having this situation under control.
Her eyes peer over to the side, observing Hime approaching towards and into the tavern and in quiet words she simply spoke on, her voice changing back instantly to her Keijo accent no longer using her native voice.
"A Centaur, most peculiar..." Her words were clearly more a statement to herself more than they were to address anyone around her.

Yoshiki and anyone with particularly strong hearing near Mana might hear a faint but breif growl like a wolf or dog, though it's very faint and the source isn't pinpointable.

Date's Domain

Rhylu's aura flares up as Date makes the soot puff out, using it as a brief shield to not get coated himself; the aura fading away into complete obscurity again. He looks at the sword and then nods looking to Kokoro. "I held back but I felt the swords strength. It's plenty strong for a normal fighter." His words softening becoming more relaxed instead battle-tense.

"Sensei most things are very young compared to you." Making a slight teasing joke as he returns to his civilian self.

edited 23rd Feb '18 8:56:50 PM by darkdestinysoul

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

Sonome Village, Blacksmith's Hut, Date's Domain

Kokoro smiled as she watched Date and Rhylu "Master~? You said we would get out special lessons now~ I'm ready~" As she asked her lantern companion wobbled around in the air more, trying to make funny faces as it saw Kokoro smiling, seemingly in an effort to make her and the rest laugh a bit

Sonome Village, Outside the Tavern

Hime was about to correct Sasuke though Mana was faster than her, with a nod she bowed towards her "Indeed, I am a centaur - Hatakeyama Hime to be exact." She bowed again, unlike what her - from the lokos of it - young age suggested she carried herself with an aura of maturity.

edited 26th Feb '18 11:17:46 AM by Sergey_Smirnov

"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"

Sonome

Tavern

"A...centaur." Tarou repeats, furrowing his brow slightly. "I have never heard of or seen such a creature before...I hope you are not planning to cause any trouble." He says, a slight bit defensive in the presence of this mysterious new being.

A few of the other patrons in the tavern have started to look over as well, most of them likely not ever seeing something like Hime either, and largely seeming to attribute her appearance to a bit too much overindulgence.

"...I want to ask to pet her, but I dont know if that's be rude..." Yoshiki says quietly to Mana, still looking a bit intrigued.

---

Date's Domain

Date laughs again at Rhylu's remark at his age. "Well, I cannot deny that." He looks over to Kokoro as she asks about the training again, seeming to note her sudden silence. Before he can comment, though, Minami speaks up as well.

"I...you have a good point, Date-san. I am always so busy with things back at home...and then to get away from that, I come here and do more work. Even if its fun, I suppose working all the time isn't the best thing, either..." She says, in thought. "I'll try to remember that."

"That's all I ask. That said...what I have in mind for you two is not going to be easy. Are you certain you think you're ready to learn?" He says, asking both girls once again.

Old habits die hard, especially when no one else lets them die either.

Sonome Village, Blacksmith's Hut, Date's Domain

Kokoro smiled brightly - both from the prospect of getting to train and from her lantern continuing to make faces. "Of course I'm ready to learn, Master~" She looked over to Minami with a smile - and behind her, her lantern hovered exactly over her head, making funny faces again, trying to get Minami to smile as well

Sonome Village, Outside the Tavern

Hime looked at Tarou, seemingly not really bothered by his defensiveness "Rest assured that I pose no danger and don't intend to cause trouble - in fact, I cam here to look for help." The small centaur girl bowed deeply

"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"

Sonome

Tavern

Tenzo initially looks alarmed as he feels air rubbing up against his skin, running up his spine like electricity. "No, stahp!" He makes stifled giggles, struggling not to collapse and break into full-blown laughter. "Don't make me turn you into a fox again!"

Assuming Sasuke lets him go, he calms down and clears his throat loudly. "If we're done here, we should start making preparations."

Sonome

Tavern:

Amidst the chaos and conversations that were going on, The Outlander spent most of his time at the actual bar of the tavern. Despite the foolishness of such an action, Li spent his remaining currency (which wasn't very much to start with) on whatever wine he could afford in an effort to drown his sorrows that was doomed to fail. He had managed to down a full bottle already, and was about halfway finished with a second before he found it was too much a struggle to force himself to drink anymore at the moment.

"You know what's funny in a kinda sad way? I'm not even a soldier...yet with my kinda life, I know almost every job could be my last. Lots of fighting, dangerous work...but even without all that I sometimes go days without food and not enough water...some life right?" He asked in a way that wasn't rhetorical, but wasn't directed at anyone in particular.

Living The Fever Dream

Tavern

"Oh, right, centaur, not mermaid." Sasuke says, snapping his fingers, "Mermaids must have those bird women I met in Macedonia, I think. They were mean."

"I'm always a fox, dear student." Sasuke snickers at Tenzo laughing and keeps up the wind for a bit, before eventually letting it die down, then turns to Li, "I spent much of my first century like that, some of the third too. Never easy, but things do find a way to get better, even amid the chaos and hardship."

Momentarily confused, he looks around at the growl.

edited 27th Mar '18 11:30:54 AM by GhostElm

"I'm as free as the dust in the solar wind."

Sonome

Tavern:

"Easy to say when things are going good for ya. You have any idea how much I've lost?" Li would begin before adding, "I used to have it all: A lovely family, a basic house that was still pretty comfy, somewhere I felt I belonged...then one day it was all stabbed, burned, or blown up. Do you have any idea how long I've been a migrant? Almost as long as I was a hermit! It's not a fun way to live!" Li would then take a huge swig of his wine bottle before finding himself unable to finish it, almost falling backward out of his chair.

"I think there's something in here, am I seeing horse people?!" He wondered in disbelief, spotting the centaur.

Living The Fever Dream

Sonome

Tavern

Mana has a prideful smirk at being one of the few invidiuals well read-enough to know what a centaur is, afterall she did study a vast number of tomes from her families archive. Making her eyebrow twitch however as Sasuke inaccurately refer to a mermaid as a bird-like creature.

Still keeping composure she looks to Yoshiki and subtly shakes her head. "I would see it as rude to be asked such." A quiet but strict reply to the boy. "And no Li, you are not seeing things the 'horse person' or Centaur is real."

She takes a final sip of tea from infont of her and stands up giving a strong glare at a open spot of air and a slight hand motion, telling her currently intangable and invisible wolf familiar to calm down its growling, Xeo disliking the centuars presence. "I feel I shall also make some additional preperations for tomorrow, excuse me." Heading off actually in the direction of the stairs, looking to go up to her still rented out room at the establishment for a bit of privacy.

Inside the Nightsong Carriage

Ren has finished much of his work outside and in the process of attempting to continue work inside he may have taken a sit down to rest, just for a moment... Before just falling asleep; one can only push themselves for soo long afterall even despite his willpower and maturity his young body can only handle soo much.

Date's Domain

Rhylu gives a smirk at Date before looking over as the ladies prepare for training, deciding to take himself and his blades over to the side of the area somewhere he feels he'd get a good spot to watch the action and sitting himself down on the ground, blades in scabbards just across his lap.
"Try and not be too tough on them Sensei." He called over.

edited 8th Apr '18 7:58:02 AM by darkdestinysoul

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

Sonome

Tavern

"You know what I meant." Tenzo says to Sasuke, listening to his and the Outlander's conversation. His smile fades when Li tries to tell them off. "I'd appreciate it if you don't assume what we have or haven't been through. I never had a family when I was a child, and I had to turn to crime just to survive. When I finally did find a family, I had to watch it slowly degrade into little more than a gang of killers before I decided to run away. Outside of this village, I'm essentially a fugitive." A few wisps of dark magic escape his fingers before he calms down.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some packing to do." He then glances towards the ceiling, and teleports upstairs to start packing.

edited 3rd May '18 10:20:05 PM by AqueousBunnies

Sonome

Tavern

Yoshiki looks a little dejected at the calm scolding from Mana. "Aw...okay..." He says, getting up from the table. "Well, I'm going around to say goodbye to people." He says, strolling towards the door. "Bye bye, Miss Sin...Cen...Centaur!" He says after a bit of stumbling and heads out the door.

Tarou, meanwhile, finds himself split between Li and Hime, the former's words causing him to feel like acid was boiling in his stomach. Before he could stop himself, his mouth was already moving. "...Are you serious? My entire existence is considered an abomination. I don't have any family. I never even had a family. I lived on the streets my entire life, only staying somewhere long enough before they learned what in was and either tried to chase me out or kill me." He says, his expression now dark. "And when I finally did find someone who would take a chance on a monster, he ended up dead, and the other hating my guts for it. So please, don't sit here and say things we don't get it because are "going good" for any of us. I get it, very well.".

He goes silent for a few moments, realizing everything he just blurted out. He looks pained for a moment before looking back to Hime. "...Sorry. You're probably better off asking someone else right now. Excuse me." He says, and without any fanfare, he quickly leaves, heading off in the direction of the forest.

---

Date's Domain

Date gives a subtle smirk, nodding at Rhylu's statement. "You know I cannot promise such a thing." He says before looking back to the girls. "This will take all the blood, sweat, and tears you're willing to give."

He says, turning and heading over towards the forge near the back of the area, beckoning for the two girls to follow, only stopping once he reaches the anvil. "Well, then. I am going to teach you the way of my greatest art." He turns back to the girls and holds out an open hand, where an orb of blue, ghostly fire manifests. "Soul Synthesis."

Old habits die hard, especially when no one else lets them die either.

Sonome Village, Tavern

Hime bowed respectfully towards Yoshiki "Goodbye, honored traveler." She listened to Tarou seak, though, if she had a reaction to it, she managed to hide it quite well, merely staying silent before looknig around to the others currently gathered "It seems my arrival was not at the best of times."

Sonome Village, Blacksmith's Hut, Date's Domain

Kokoro gave a confident smile "Master, no need to go easy, I'm ready to learn~" She looked over to Minami, looking if she was ready as well before turning back to Date"I'm ready to give everything~" With that, she followed Date, looking around and trying to memorise all the details of the weapons she went past until Date spoke again. She watched the orb of fire, being obviously impressed by it "Wow... what is Soul Synthesis?"

"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"

Sonome Tavern

Sasuke rises to his feet and strides toward Li at his confrontation, his eyes full of fire, "Do you really think that in the 7 and a quarter centuries I've been on this earth that I've had it easy? Do you really? I've seen loved ones ripped limb from limb, seen village after village consumed by fire before waves of advancing armies, survived off literal garbage and vermin for decades on end, watched my friends either away and die of plague and famine while I sat by helpless to stop it. Pain?" he spits before turning to follow after Tarou, "You know nothing of pain."

Tenzo should find a message explaining to follow them once he's finished burned into the wall nearby.

"I'm as free as the dust in the solar wind."

Sonome

Tavern:

The Outlander found himself completely dumbfounded by Tarou, Tenzo and Sasuke telling him off, which wasn't helped by the effects of intoxication kicking in. He found himself speechless and angered a bit by the fact that his life's history seemed invalidated...but then again he hadn't realized at the time he pretty much did the same thing to his company, while assuming once again that everyone but him was having what one could consider a "good life". Eventually however he'd eventually quip, regardless if anyone could hear him, "At least you all have each other, I don't have any friends...or I did, but they tend to come and go for...various reasons... He tried to say, struggling to prevent himself from revealing reasons why and possibly getting arrested. People tended not to want to speak to a person again after they did things like killing a samurai in self-defense in lieu of being a victim of tsujigiri (the act of testing a new katana on a wayfarer).

Li seemed in no hurry to pack, largely because he already had everything he owned with him, but regardless he stood up, spending a moment struggling to regain his balance before shuffling toward the exit, using his staff as a cane for support.

Living The Fever Dream

Sonome

Tavern -> Village Commons

Tenzo spots the message, and teleports out of the tavern and near his teachers once he's done packing. "That didn't go so well. Are you okay?" Tenzo asks Tarou and Sasuke.