L5R - Unity - Chapter 1 - Winter Solstice

[Rain Yupa]

Daigotsu Shoichi would look thoughtful, one arm across his chest, propping up his other to stroke his bearded chin as Naohiko spoke. "That makes sense, I suppose. And, while I already am a man that possesses those exact attributes, they are meaningless unless demonstrated through victory."

Hammering his fist down into an open palm, he beamed. "Then, if the Fortunes truly have your best interests at heart, Kaichiyo-san, you will be leaving this court with one top-of-the-line fiance!" He bowed politely, then simply walked off, laughing to himself victoriously.

(I'll leave a bit of a pause for reactions from either player, but post tonight regardless of any responses; Gendo will catch up then.)  

[Plainsfox]

The Kraken samurai resumed his position off of Kaichiyo's right and let out his breath when he was sure no one was looking at him. Naohiko still took the time to examine the crowd.Surely Shoichi wasn't the only one who was interested in gaining the hand of a princess. It would be good information to have at least.

OOC:
Perception/Investigation 4k2 w/ 2 dice to handle explosions
Results: 13  

[Rain Yupa]

(As a brief note, there are more courtiers at court than what's listed in the NPC roster; that's just full of interesting ones worth meeting, is all).

I'm... not entirely sure what you're looking for, Naohiko. If people are oggling Kaichiyo? Regardless, you don't see anyone doing that, nor trying to communicate with her through code, via a complex system of rather obvious winks.

However, taking the initiative, one courtier in phoenix orange would make her way over after Shoichi had left.

"Hi!" she would suddenly speak up, in case she hadn't had your attentions yet. She was a cute-looking girl, with her hair done in a traditional (and perhaps, outdated?) bun, held in place by two ornate jade hairpins, the ends shaped like soaring birds. "Greetings, Twelve-san," she would address Kaichiyo, bowing politely. "I'm Two!" She would smile brightly at you, Kaichiyo, contrasting her odd introduction.

Gendo, around this point, you arrived, fully-clothed, carrying Setsuna in your arms. Upon seeing the people gathered here, and general commotion, he gets excited and tries to squirm out of your grasp! If you wish to maintain your hold on him, give me a TN 10 Strength/Animal Handling roll! As an alternative, Awareness/Animal Handling to simply command him to stop. Your next post can include you doing stuff besides making this roll (and your own success/failure will be known and can be reflected in your post accordingly).  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Gendo would speak down to the dog calmly, attempting to settle it down. "Calm yourself, Setsuna. You'll get plenty of attention."

He'd proceed towards the other two Kraken, looking about the room to see the current guest layout and especially for any little Hares, for a more proper introduction.

Awareness/Handle-Animal: 2k2 - 13  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Kaichiyo gave a weak smile, crossing her arms at the Spider's antics. Her ultimate defense failed that easily? That was unsettling... hopefully he was just a bizarre exception. Well, if that was the case, she would simply stand back and let Naohiko work. The conditions made her a little nervous, but at the same time he didn't promise a thing, which was the most important part. If it really came down to it, her mother would never agree to marry a Spider into the family - certainly not for leadership - and if it really came down to it she could simply humiliate the poor man in a duel.

Settled enough for now, she gave Naohiko a grateful nod and set about finding people to play-err... socialize with. And it seemed she didn't have long to look before someone else decided they wanted to come as say hi. This one thankfully so much more appealing than the last.

It didn't even take a moment for the princess' eyes to roll and an exasperated smile to break across her features. "Hello. It's nice to meet you, Two-san. Twelve, huh? I see the Spider is casting his web out wide for this court."

She paused a moment, a slightly worried expression following, "How long does he linger? I think I'm rather anxious to meet meet Thirteen."  

[PupSage]

Shi would stand up and make his way towards the Daidoji that he had nearly knocked over, "Do you by chance know that girls name?"  

[Rain Yupa]

Gendo, Setsuna calms for now, though he lets out a few low whimpers about his situation. While scanning the room, you do not see any representatives of the Hare Clan, familiar or otherwise. The layout of the rest of the guests, though? There seems to be a majority of Crane compared to any other clan, but it's really just more of a 2-to-1 ration to any other clan. Makes sense, considering this is their home turf, and all. But every major clan is represented here. Minor Clans are a different story, and frankly, you can't see any in the crowd.

You do see Kaichiyo and Naohiko after a minute, though.

"That's definitely one way to put it!" the phoenix talking to Kaichiyo would say. "If you want though, you can refer to me as Agasha Mai. And I'm not entirely sure I understand the question. Or, maybe, you don't. Both of us are still prospective brides, Twelve-san. Though maybe I've finally been let off the hook, for you were far kinder to the Spider than any of your predecessors." Currently, the woman had an apologetic look on her face when she revealed that fact.

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

@ Shi: When you found the Daidoji, he seemed a bit stunned still. "I, ah... I'm not entirely sure what happened, Monk-san," he would say at first. "Are you okay? There was some shouting, and... well, you were there, I suppose."

When asked for her name, the guard would reply, "She's Usagi Ichi, she's one of the samurai staying here for court. Usagi-san is staying just two rooms down from yours."  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Gendo just rubs the dog's ears lightly as he heads over to Kaichiyo.  

[PupSage]

Shi's eyes darted everywhere except for the Daidoji's eyes for a moment. "Its um ... Miss Usagi-san was attempting to spy on Lady Kaichiyo while she was changing. She fled the room and assaulted one of samurai that came here with us." He would bow and walk down to the room that the Daidoji mentioned, knocking and saying, "Hello?"

-----
If no answer, Shi will sit down and meditate until disturbed. 4k3 = 28 total  

[Rain Yupa]

Shi, roll me an Awareness/Sincerity with that. If you are knowingly lying (no spying was had, no actual "assault" took place), you may add the Deceit emphasis to it.  

[PupSage]

Ooc: Okay, but for the record, thats his interpetation. She went in to change and he dozed off. Then the girl ran out and shoved Gendo and Shi pursued her.

2k2=13  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Ever the pillar of confidence, Kaichiyo opened her mouth as if to say something, before her eyes went wide with understanding. "...oh."

A sad smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes and shook her head, but by the time her eyes opened her full confident flare was back, the smile shifting to a grin, hands to hips, and perfectly postured heroic pose as naturally as if this had been her plan all along. "It is my honor to suffer so that the eleven who came before me may court in peace. I ask only that there be music and burnt offerings in honor of my sacrifice."

She looked back down at Mai and beamed a genuine smile. "I am Himura Kaichiyo, and don't be concerned for me. If he thinks my response was kind, it is only because he has yet to meet my mother. The Spider is out of his element on the open seas, and it takes far more than webs to catch a Kraken~"  

[Plainsfox]

Naohiko uttered a discrete cough to let Kaichiyo know that he and Gendo were still with her and could probably stand to be introduced. Other than that, the Kraken sought to take stock of where various clansmen were in the room, most notably Unicorn, Scorpion, and Minor Clansmen, as he was bid to do. This meeting with Agasha-san SEEMED safe enough that Chiyo-chan should be able to handle herself.

OOC:
Perception/Investigation 4k2 w/ 2 dice to handle explosions
Results: 32  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Shi: The Daidoji would simply nod at the monk's explanation of events. "I'll make sure I'll report this to Daidoji Benjiro," was the best he could come up with.

You get the sense that there wasn't much more that he could really say about the matter.

You go to the Hare's room, knocking on the door and calling out, but you get no reply. It's been maybe 5-10 minutes, tops, so it's unlikely she's back yet. So, as instructed, meditation is had.

(You'll be a half-hour, at least, so feel free to mark back that void point).

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

@ Naohiko - You can see Unicorn and Scorpion are easy to pick out, what, with everyone being color-coded though. Minor Clansmen are much harder to spot, probably because it's a needle-in-a-haystack scenario. And by that, I mean a no-raises-in-a-haystack scenario.

@ Gendo - You regroup with the others!

@ Kaichiyo:

"Well, I certainly can provide the music, if you'd like! I can rope in a fire shugenja easily enough for the other part~" she would tease, smiling. "Hopefully, it doesn't-

"Well well well, my eyes aren't deceiving me after all," a woman's voice would say. People had started to approach the Kraken clan, waiting their turns for introduction, but they quickly parted ways when a quartet of Mantis walked through.

"Umm... excuse me," Mai would say as she bowed and backed away from the three of you.

"I thought Kraken were invertebrates, but apparently they must have a spine if they swim with the big fish," the leader would say, a fierce grin showing, which, when doubled with the darkest eyes any of you have ever seen, seemed to exude malice. She was the same complexion as Kaichiyo, while her sun-tipped brown hair was cut medium length, an elaborately designed bandana keeping it in check.

"I had heard they had written to cancel. The fact that they're here definitely clashes with the things I've heard about them," a second woman would say. She was a few inches taller than the leader, with a much leaner and lithe build. She was probably the best-dressed of the lot, a sign of Daikoku's handiwork. Despite this, her hair was kept in a simple ponytail, reached down to shoulder length.

"Hmph. Her guard's kind of a runt," one of the men would say, sizing up Naohiko. He looked disgusted. He has a sizeable scar across his forehead, easily visible with the shaved pate hairstyle he adorns. He looks to Gendo, and his disdain diminishes somewhat.

"Did you see how she handled that Spider fellow earlier?" the other man would say, nodding towards Kaichiyo.
"Bet any of you a koku she's playing good little wife to him by the end of Spring. You can see it in her face." This one was built like a courtier, his nose larger and more hooked than what you're used to seeing in a typical Rokugani, though behind that, his beady eyes are knowingly gauging all of you on something. And rather than a shaved pate, he just seems to be balding, making him look older than he was at a glance.

"Hmph. No bet," the first woman would say, waving a hand dismissively, eyes closed as she did so before locking them with Kaichiyo. "But forgive me, I'm being rude. I haven't even introduced myself yet to our new arrivals. My name is Yoritomo Satoko, daughter of Yoritomo Karasuma, and granddaughter of Yoritomo Sato. And I've heard a lot about you." In an odd gesture, she would extend an arm out to Kaichiyo.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Gendo would lean close to Naohiko and whisper. "Are they insulting me, or am I just hearing fish lips flapping?"