L5R - Unity - Chapter 1 - Winter Solstice

[Rain Yupa]

@ Kaichiyo:

"... one moment, Himura-san," the first guard Kaichiyo saw would say as he bowed his head quickly and hurried off. In about a minute's time, he would return, with another Crane at his side. A few years his and your elder, the new Crane would meet your gaze without letting his eyes wander. The guard would once more bow and continue his patrol.

"Himura-san, I'm told you were curious about one of the... ah, 'guests' we have currently staying with us..." the man would say, rubbing his jawline which showed no sign of growth. "I am Daidoji Benjiro, I don't think we've officially met yet. I'm in charge of your safety while you stay with us. Though I've heard of this... ahem... Shoichi fellow. May I ask what your interest in him is, at this time?"

Without so much of a smile, he would add, "Though I've not been at all involved with Lady Kioko-hime's events, I've still come under the impression that his presence is 'intolerable' to your clan."  

[Paidi tou Selini]

She waited patiently for the guard, in no particular hurry. She was actually expecting Chikuma herself, but the appearance of the new Daidoji was actually a bit of a relief. She envied a guard so skilled and vigilant - though she knew she would never be able to compare to a Great Clan princess' resources - but she was still very... intense.

"Ahm, yes. Pleasure to meet you, Daidoji Benjiro-san. Well, I'm not looking specifically for him so much as he's the one who borrowed this haori from someone for me and I am trying to find out who to return it to." she explained with a nervous laugh.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Kaichiyo:

Benjiro's gaze would dwell on the haori for a few moments, then return to Kaichiyo's. "That's a kind gesture, Himura-san. But isn't this a drastic climate change for the colder for you? If you'd like, you can hold on to it until the end of Winter Court." He would upturn his left hand openly as a gesture of good will. You get the sense that he's just official enough to make such a call for you to have it on extended loan.

"Otherwise, since it belongs to the Doji as a whole, I can take it from you if you don't want to be troubled by it. Unless... ah, this is a matter of its source?" he would say, trying to subtly indicate the giver of the haori as the reason for the return as politely as possible.  

[Paidi tou Selini]

"Haha, you're right there. I've heard stories of snow, but this is the first time I've ever seen it for myself. The cold is fun for a little while, but this was... probably very important during the scavenger hunt. It's reasonable to think I'll need it again." she reasoned, returning the jacket to under her arm. She gave a polite bow, "Thank you for your generosity. Shall I bring it back to you upon our departure then? I'm not naive enough to believe that was the last I'll see of the Spider, but you are right to intuit that I do not wish to seek him out if I can help it."  

[Rain Yupa]

The rest of the evening passes without incident. My lord, you're such well-behaved PCs. But the next morning looms...  

[Rain Yupa]

Day 3 of 45

@ Kraken Clan:

Rain Yupa

Most of you are probably still adjusting to the new setting - this was your first night on stable ground in some time, though your biological clocks are still telling you that it's the middle of the night, despite the fact that the sun has risen.

Everyone, state the time you would normally intend to rise (i.e., "at dawn" "a little before dawn" "midday" etc) and give me a Raw Earth roll of TN 20 to accomplish this. If you fail, you wake up later, due to the time zone change, not that you'd have any idea what that actually was. You can decide when, even if it's minutes or hours. Also, describe to me your morning routine - and how this time difference interferes with it, if it does at all.

You suspect you'll be dealing with this for a few mornings, at least.

Have any of you adapted to the different time zone yet? Let us find out.

The Raw Earth roll is TN 18. Your prior responses are here.

Did the mental strain of trying to learn and master a new game and not look like doofuses drain your reserves? Or are you avatars of adapting to change, both in court and in geography? Let us find out.

--------------------

@ Kyouya:

You can wake whenever you would like, unless you want to try waking up long before anyone else. Any early morning tangled-web-weaving you want to get up to, or just your normal routine?  

[Plainsfox]

Emboldened by his success with meeting Kyouya, Naohiko would try to wake up before dawn this time, so he could better attempt to observe things.....like his pillow on which he spent several hours considering it's soft fluffiness  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Gendo, having had a fairly tame yesterday, once again tries to get up at Setsuna hours. He also does this in an attempt to get some free time to check the Kyuden's smithy.

3k3 - 16 vs TN 18  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Once again again, she tried to wake up at first light, just before dawn.

...and once again was not even close. It was well into the morning by the time she managed to get up, and almost midday by the time she was clean and breakfast'd and ready to take on the day.

[Raw Earth to Wake Up!
Roll: 2k2 vs. TN18
3, 1 = 4 ]  

[Glory Sieg]

Kyouya woke up as was her usual routine.

Well, without waking up, she'd be dead or comatose, so clearly waking up was a good start!

After getting herself ready, the courtier made her way to the nearest guard, green eyes bright behind the mask as she asked them for the location of her Kraken friends. It was a bit hard to find a kimono she owned that wouldn't horribly clash with the necklace, but that was hardly a real issue considering her usual faire of kimono.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ The Kraken:

The acclimation escapes you once more. Better luck tomorrow?

--------------------

@ Gendo:

You sleep through the whining and licking of your face by Setsuna (you hope; you were too tired to open your eyes), before you couldn't take it anymore and finally get up. Apparently, your dog rocked his Raw Earth roll because his bladder's on schedule. You barely make yourself presentable enough for walkies, before heading out. Where do you take him?

--------------------

@ Naohiko, Kaichiyo:

You're not sure which one of you gets up first, but you two soon hear each other through the paper walls. No sound of Setsuna though, so Gendo's probably gone. However, you faintly hear a guard responding to a question with "it's those rooms over there", which of course is none of your business... until...

@ Kyouya:

The guard in the Scorpion wing sent you to where the minor clans are being housed (and it looks a bit less auspiciously decorated than the Scorpion's wing is, if you have an eye for such things), and a guard there pointed out which set of rooms belonged to the Kraken. Being this hour, they undoubtedly making their final preparations to head out for the Crafting Competition that begins shortly, and aren't just waking up now. CLEARLY that's the case.  

[Plainsfox]

Naohiko would kind of start moving as he woke up, aware that the sun was a bit higher in the sky than he had hoped. He would see a form walk in the direction of their rooms and decide that he MIGHT want to hurry up in getting dressed.  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Stirring all abound. Groggy as she was, she didn't pay much heed to any commotion outside her door. "Those rooms over there" could have meant anyone, and thus her dressing went unabated.  

[Glory Sieg]

Humming musically to herself, Kyouya found herself in the Kraken's wing. The first room was empty, its occupant already out and about. The other two weren't, which meant they were waiting of course.

They couldn't just be getting out of bed after all.

With a soft knock, she opened the first door, looking about the Kraken princess's room before focusing on her. "Hm? That's what you're wearing today? Very... fitting."  

[Paidi tou Selini]

The little princess lets out a melodic whine at the sound of the knock, thinking it was Gendo trying to make sure she was getting up. "I'll be along shor-" only to find the door opening and a stunningly beautiful woman peering inside. She couldn't help but think "AGAIN!?" in silence to the kami as she stared wide-eyed, only to realize a moment later than she hadn't put her obi on yet and thus her whole smallclothed front was in full view. She quickly wrapped her kimono fully around her and held it there as her face turned bright red. Doubly so as the delicately chosen garb of her guest left the eyes to wander quite distinctly to a rather generous chest area. It took her a noticeable few moments to pull her eyes back up to make proper eye contact.

"Sh-Shosuro-san! Whaaat an unexpected surprise! What, um... what brings you here? she stammers, trying to regain composure as she inwardly berates herself for being so awkward when a literal fantasy scenario comes right to her door. These were the tales from Naohiko, not her, and while she dreamed about it with extreme regularity she didn't think for a second that it would ever come true.