EM - Hot baths are for Low Landers (Open)

[Nozomi]

Phi had arrived early in the morning from the last leg of her journey and the grime of the road was something she could definitely feel very real. One of the guards in town had told her about the bath house and she'd raised an eyebrow, muttering something about soft lowlander habits before asking where the river was. There'd been a warning about the currents, to which shed simply nodded and come out this way.

She wasn't stupid enough to actually swim out into the water. She'd gone to the edge of the river with the town still in sight and settled there in a spot where she wasn't going to make a mess of anything before pulling out a bronze pot and soap. Her weapons were still readily at hand while she used the pot to gather the water after shedding her armor and splashed herself freezing and goosebumped before starting to lather. If she caught the footsteps of anything nearby, a hand would reach down to her tonfa and pale red eyes would regard whoever it was.

"Friend or foe?"

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Ayumu was carelessly strolling along the river, with the idea of eventually harvest some useful plants from its banks.

At the moment though, he was mostly admiring the rising sun from this unusually high (for him) point of view. Maybe his attention was also grasped by the passing wild flowers from a species he didn't know about. Trips far home sure were interesting.

He made absolutely no effort at being stealthy (why would he?), so any mostly naked person would have ample time to react if they desire so. He is wearing clothes with short sleeves, walking bare foot in the water, and with no apparent weapon.

[Nozomi]

She caught sight of Ayumu as he walked along, and after a moment's pause it was pretty obvious that he was not stalking her in some fashion. So, the hint that he wasn't alone came in the form of a splash of cold water. A mop of black hair covered the young woman's face while the soap was washed down her back in rivulets. She began to towel off with a linen cloth, taking a small effort to maintain modesty. The splash had been loud and obvious enough to get his attention, to warn him what he was about to walk in on.

No words just yet. She glanced over her shoulder, one red eye regarding to make sure he'd pause his walk for a moment.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Sky. River. Piercing red eyes. Flowers. Fishes.

Wait, piercing red eyes?

Ayumu stopped daydreaming to stare at the apparition.

He might have remained taken by surprise longer in another life, one without orange-eyed warriors and blind spirit channelers in his everyday entourage. In this one, he returned to his senses swiftly. And applied the natural caution when dealing with a possibly supernatural being, bowing so his eyes would now look at the ground.

"Please pardon me milady. I didn't know you were there."

[Nozomi]

"Phi. Dead sure 'Milady' doesn't apply. Mind turning around for a second, eh?" The voice she used, well it wasn't very spectral at all. Bit on the gravelly, rough side, and more than a little bit blunt. Then again, she was the one who was currently a little underdressed for the occasion, wasn't she? One hand made a vague motion, flicking her fingers in a turn-around gesture and she waited, continuing to dab the dampness off of her flesh slowly while she did.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Ayumu turned around as instructed, mentally accessing his knowledge of water spirits, just in case.

[Nozomi]

The sounds of fabric being shifted back into could be heard for a moment before a grunt came from behind him. "You can turn around again," she said, and if he looked back, she was in the process of putting the veil back over the lower half of her face. She didn't look particularly upset as she slipped her tonfa into her sash at her side and reached down for the breastplate of her armor, glancing back at him. "Mind helping me back into my armor?"

Wasn't like light scout armor of this sort couldn't be put on on her own, but this was convenient at least.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Sure."

Unless the armor has some very specific features, Ayumu will be quite helpful in his actions, as he is quite used to dress other people, including in their full armor.

"In case you didn't know, the nearby city has a bathhouse whose access is free to all unless I'm mistaken."

[Nozomi]

The armor was normal, almost basic. It was the type that the scouts and hunters wore, forsaking some protection to avoid impacting the process of stalking prey negatively. He wouldn't have any trouble with the ties in the back as they put it in place. She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, those red orbs gazing over the veil.

"I saw. Heard about those when I was traveling here. Cold water gets the blood flowing," she murmured, shaking her head a little. "Seems like the sort of thing a lowlander would devise. Feel good while you bathe and you stay in too long. No thanks."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"I think you can get a bucket of cold water and a private corner in those if you insist. Not as comfortable, but less risk of people accidentally stumbling into you. In case you didn't know, you're very close to the city gates here. I would hazard the guess that means there is a lot of passage, even if it looks like a wild land. I'm not local though, so I cannot assure you of that. Did you come from far yourself?"

[Nozomi]

She shrugged in the armor. "I doubt that it was going to be that much of an issue. They wouldn't have had that, save recently. It's a new thing I hear. The river's fine for me." As she said it, she collected her things and looked over at him more fully, taking in the measure of him. There wasn't any hint of embarrassment there, or anything else really. Live in the mountains and you bathed in the streams. It seemed rather normal to her.

"The Spine, to the north. Above the marshes nobody wants. We prefer the privacy." She gestured vaguely in the direction of the north. If he knew his southern geography, those lands were technically Scorpion, but there was a good chance that that rancid peat bog of a territory wasn't really claimed in practical reality. Nobody actually wanted to live in places like that.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Oh, I know of the Spine. I used to live in Isawa lands, even further north than that. And my orange-eyed sempai is Hikaru by birth.

That's quite the long road to there. What called you here, so far from home?"

[Nozomi]

"The Emperor. He sent out word to the whole empire, and I was the one who answered from the tribe," she grunted out. Most of them thought of it as a fool's errand. "Reiko came to the tribe a year past, so we'd expected to hear something would happen one day. And, much as some might not think so, we can't squat in the mountains forever."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm Ayumu, another of those who volunteered for this expedition. I think I understand your desire for a dynamic refreshment better now that I know you rushed through so many lands to get onboard in time.

I don't know if your decision was the right one, but it's a kind and a courageous one.

Can I help you in any way? Even though I don't know the city or the other members of the expedition well yet, I can try to answer your questions, or at least direct you toward someone who might know the answer."

[Nozomi]

She kind of stared at him for a moment, those blood red eyes practically boring straight into his skull from above her veil. Kind? She had never been called kind in her entire mortal life. She wasn't even sure if she should take it as an insult, given that she thought of herself as a hunter, a killer and just the the sort of person you least wanted to be on the business end of. She decided, however, not to take it that way. He clearly thought of it as a compliment after all, even if it rang so wrongly in her head. Courageous, at least, perhaps...

God, you do talk a lot don't you?

She breathed in and out slowly before replying. She'd given him her name already, so there was no need to do it again. "Don't mistake me. I am not a kind woman. You do not want compassion today." They would need someone who brutally, efficiently and swiftly executed those who stood in their way. "Where is the convoy meeting to prepare? I will want to report in today at some point. Have you seen our numbers?"

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"You're literally putting yourself at risk to save someone else, for no tangible gain. If that's not kindness, what is?

The convoy is... Let's just say we had both less and more volunteers than expected, and things turned a bit chaotic. In top of that, a lot of us are split around at the moment, having been dispatched to help gathering more supplies.

We should have a better understanding of our numbers by tomorrow, or so I hope. You may ask any of the castle guards for an update of the situation, they'll tell you better than me the latest news. You might also ask them if you need a room for the night or any similar accommodation. Hida's people have proven quite sympathetic to those en route to rescue his brother so far."

[Nozomi]

She took it in but shook her head. "I have much to gain in this operation. One without purpose, without place will not walk away so when this is done. Their eyes are on us. It is why I came." Well, that, and Reiko had asked. But this was simple survival to her. The longer the Hikaru stayed right where they were, the more it was guaranteed they would one day dwindle and die. She couldn't have that. Not for herself, and probably not for them. "But you may think what you wish, if it makes you smile to think me kind. Let us hope our enemies think so as well. It will make them easier to kill."

She was starting to walk back towards the town, though her pace was easy, slow and methodical, easy for him to follow along with. If they were going to chat, there might as well be purpose in their steps. "Disorganized. Tch, of course. I will help with that if I can. Can't have us dying in a damned ditch because the supply wagon broke by being overloaded."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"I'll give it to you that your future actions will indeed tell of your kindness, or lack thereof, more truthfully that any words we could exchange.

I'll just disagree on one point: You don't need to go through it simply to join a clan. The bar is not set that far, or none of us would be claners nowadays. Shiba, and maybe others, would be happy to welcome you simply if you asked."

He went along with her, even though it was not his first destination, too interest in this strange character to just let her be.

"You seem to have some experience with escorting convoys, is that right? Do you also know of the strange lands where we're heading?"

[Nozomi]

She didn't speak to the first. In the back of her mind, she supposed the kami would be desperate enough to take any dreg that washed up on some of their shores, just to fill in the ranks. The rough edges could be smoothed over and they could be molded to that kami's will with time, and their children would be easier with each generation. They could take anyone, but maybe that was part of the problem. She was not just anyone. She was one of the last highlanders. She was Phi, and she wanted to be desired not because she was a warm body to add to the rank and file. She wanted to be desired because she was Phi, and the idea of even two of them arguing over which got her might have made her smile under that veil, stupid as it sounded for a mortal woman not long past her childhood to think that way.

The folly and arrogance of youth.

"I have experience raiding them. You learn what makes them break down when you bring them down. I only know the place is a wasteland and that I was told to bring Jade and prepare for a fight." She honestly knew little else, but she had at least been told to expect that much.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Your competences will be appreciated. Just keep in mind that some in the convoy, with which you'll eventually have to work with, might have been on the other side of such raids in the past.

Jade? The precious stone? Do you mean a ritual item made of jade so you may keep in touch with your spiritual obligations? Or just the raw material, as a bargaining chip for people living down there?"