[D3 LE] - Veneration (Open)

[Nozomi]

With the incident with the bandits today, patrols were stepped up to the whole surrounding region to make sure that there weren't further problems, out of necessity. Phi was on the evening patrols at this point, nearing the wrap up point of her nightly jaunt. It was about time to go back to the main camp and finally go to her tent. But she was not quite ready to stop yet.

Upon coming to this clearing, one of her last stops, she looked at it. The disquiet feeling that she had was real, but it was not the awful sensation one got looking to the south. She brought her pack out and drew out a statue from it, setting it down there in the clearing, within sight of the gravestone and the strange little hut someone had made over it earlier in the day. She clapped first to draw the attention of the gravestone and then the statue and knelt quietly.

I hope you're actually listening to me, because I've been doing this for a month solid, and it's starting to feel very silly of me, not that I expect you to actually respond. It's not like you have yet.

While she prayed to the statue, she remained vigilant of any danger.

[Ninube]

Ninube moved somewhat quietly through the clearing. When she was close but not too close to get stabbed, she stopped and waited for Phi to finish. Once she was done, she said, "Hey, how's it going?"

[Canary]

With the incident with the bandits today, patrols were stepped up to the whole surrounding region to make sure that there weren't further problems, out of necessity. Phi was on the evening patrols at this point, nearing the wrap up point of her nightly jaunt. It was about time to go back to the main camp and finally go to her tent. But she was not quite ready to stop yet.

Upon coming to this clearing, one of her last stops, she looked at it. The disquiet feeling that she had was real, but it was not the awful sensation one got looking to the south. She brought her pack out and drew out a statue from it, setting it down there in the clearing, within sight of the gravestone and the strange little hut someone had made over it earlier in the day. She clapped first to draw the attention of the gravestone and then the statue and knelt quietly.

I hope you're actually listening to me, because I've been doing this for a month solid, and it's starting to feel very silly of me, not that I expect you to actually respond. It's not like you have yet.

While she prayed to the statue, she remained vigilant of any danger.

Phi felt... Something... brush across her mind, but it disappears when someone else speaks up.

[Nozomi]

She was aware that she wasn't alone. But, she also didn't hear the sound of a blade leaving saya, or of a bow being strung. So, she didn't tense up, right until she felt ... something. She couldn't quite pin it down, but she felt something touch her. It faded and flickered away and she frowned, letting herself breathe and relax after she tensed.

Bayushi... is that you?

No, probably not. She sighed and clapped her hands before reaching out to collect her statue and put it back in the bag. Glancing over at Ninube, she started to get up and grunted. "Frustrating, like every night," she admitted.

[Ninube]

Ninube took a guess. "You were praying?" She did mention that she had tried it before.

[Nozomi]

Another grunt and she slung her pack over her shoulder, shuddering. She didn't like the feel of this clearing. Jerking her head towards the tree line, she started out. They could walk and talk. There was no rush. "Yes. I spoke with Shinsei. I should know better. It is not like with Bishamon. He is here. With us. It is better to talk to him, but he is not here." She muttered softly. "But I have little to say to the ones that are here."

[Ninube]

Ninube followed. "Well, that makes sense, but I wouldn't say there is no reason to talk to the ones that are here. I found Shinjo to be very enlightening. They are siblings after all. I admit, I did not know what my purpose would be after saving Fu Leng. But after talking to Shinjo, I have started come up with an idea of how I will fit into the Clan. A purpose for myself."

She looked at the other woman. "Finding out more about him may help you... um, find him. Like mentally. You know what I mean?" To be fair, Ninube only half knew what she meant.

After moment, Ninube asked, "If you don't mind me asking, which one were you praying to? I'm guessing not Akodo."

[Nozomi]

"I've thought about it, but I'm not sure how I feel about those two." Shinjo had taken the Hikaru away. There were some mixed feelings there, in the end. And Hantei... could have been Akodo for all she knew of him just not quite as much of a hidebound soul. As she walked towards the edge, she shrugged, muttering to herself.

"Bayushi. I want to understand him. I think the little I know... he may have a place for one like me. But I do not know, and I do not know how to ask one of his siblings." It was easier to talk to her, since it was pretty obvious she was on the iffy side of what little law existed. But how did you ask Shinjo 'hey, tell me about your brother. he doesn't mind people who stab other people in the back from the shadows, right?'

[Ninube]

Ninube shrugged. "I just asked, 'Hey, what was your brother like?' It seemed to work. Shinjo was pretty willing to talk. Though she seemed close to Fu Leng. I'm not sure how she feels about Bayushi." Ninube shrugs again. "Maybe you should ignore me. I was terrified when I spoke to her. It's easier now to suggest it."

She looks at Phi considering, "I think most Clans will find use for people like us. We just.... need to show how our skills can benefit them."

[Nozomi]

"I spoke with the one called Shinsei some... maybe I will speak with her. I doubt the other would have much to say. I at least have an excuse with her." She shrugged, not entirely committed to it, but at least considering it. "And if they have any sense, they would see the value of people like us. I am not sure just how sensible all of them are. They seem... very ... what is the word?"

She had to pause between trees to think of it. It wasn't a word she used often because the concept was foreign to the Hikaru as a rule. "Idealistic. It reminds me of the day Koyama came back. Different. Driven."

[Ninube]

"I get that. Fu Leng seems like someone I can make my case to. But I think Hantei and Akodo will take time to realize the need for people like us. Shinjo too, though I think she wouldn't be offended as much as not see the need."

After a moment. "If things don't go well, or Bayushi isn't to your liking, come to the Spider lands. I can put in a good word for you. I have an idea. Well, sort of. And Shinjo assured me that if anything Fu Leng will find a purpose for us. He doesn't seem very wasteful."

[Nozomi]

"She's working with Koyama. If he really hasn't gone too soft, she's going to be more understanding than those two," she muttered, snorting. "The Hikaru aren't known for keeping blood off of our hands, after all, even if he wasn't as hard as some of us." Some of the ones that had been left behind were among the meaner sorts, in a certain way, grittier, more prone to just roughing it and saying fuck off to anyone else.

"From what I've seen of Reiko at least, your lot will take a pretty broad way of looking at things. More results, not methods. If you go getting rigid about your methods, it just means someone's going to use that against you."

[Ninube]

"When you say it like that, maybe this honor thing isn't so bad." Ninube assumed Phi would hear the unmentioned for other people. Then, she looked at her companion. "Are you planning on going to Bayushi after we rescue Fu Leng?"

[Nozomi]

She didn't hear it at first, but one look over at Ninube and she made an assumption, right before snorting and laughing softly to herself. "I do not plan to go to him, but I believe that I will go to him in time. I must be sure that I am not wrong about him first, and that I am worthy of his service in turn." she could be a very ... finicky soul.

[Ninube]

Ninube didn't understand. How could she be sure about Bayushi before she met him? "And how will you know without meeting him? Or if you're worthy?" Ninube shrugged. "I never met Fu Leng, but whatever. We're stuck with each other now." Ninube smiled. "Well, if Bayushi is not the one you hope for, I think Akodo is still unmarried."

[Nozomi]

She blinked and glanced at Ninube before barking out a laugh that was arguably a shade too loud for what they were doing. She leaned in way too close to the other woman and winked. "I'm not looking to bed Bayushi, silly. Although the stories people tell could give a girl childish fantasies, the man's married. And I couldn't stomach being wedded to an honorable man. I'd go mad, and he'd have to kill me. Bad combination." She clearly found it funny. "I don't know if he's the one I need to serve, but everything I have learned says he probably is... and I have a feeling in my gut. As for how I will prove it to him, I will help rescue his brother. It is more about proving it to myself that I am worthy than it is him. I hear the kami are taking a lot of recruits right now."

[Ninube]

"Makes sense. So, if you prove yourself worthy rescuing Fu Leng, what do you plan on doing from here?" Ninube wondered if Phi thought that far ahead. In her experience, paying attention to the now was important to surviving. So, she rarely did.

Of course, maybe Phi didn't want to share that information. So, Ninube gave her an out. "Have you met any of the Nezumi?"

[Nozomi]

"Go to his city. Seek an audience. Maybe try to get his attention. I'm pretty sure he doesn't answer prayers... not this way. Not going to stop trying, but Shinsei did say it doesn't work that way with them. Old fashioned works." She'd thought far enough ahead to get that far, but not a lot further. More immediate concerns were present in her mind.

"One. yes. Seem practical. Don't think much of their old slaving ways. Slaves are a crutch."

[Ninube]

"Try is mother? I've heard people listen to them. Maybe she'll get his attention." After a second, "I've been wondering where their place in all of this? Are the Clans just for us humans? Or will we call some these Nezumi brothers and sisters? The other non-human species? Or will the Empire cut itself from them."

[Nozomi]

"Hard to say. How we get on in this might affect thin..." Wait... Wait... She froze and looked at her with a bit of shock. "Did you just suggest that I pray to the sun goddess to ask her to put in a good word with her son fallen to the Earth? Or did I misunderstand what you mean when you said Mother? Because... do... do people even DO that?"