Heavenfall

Kinsen shivers a bit as she gets touched by Miuna. The dance of the water kami warms her bum up and she smiles brightly as the pain disappears, leavening a lingering fresh sensation. She turns her head over her shoulders to look at Miuna and closes her eyes in a thankful smile. She would of course, asked how she did that once she checked there was no scratch marks anymore. A bushi like herself wouldn't know much about magic.

Then, happier than before, Kinsen replies to Phi. "My boy has been blessing us for 3 years, now. Quite spirited and defiant of rules. I know he's a fast learner, though. His sensei is a splendid man, too."

"Aw, he must be adorable, if he takes after his parents."

Ryoko smiled wistfully. "It must be nice, seeing your son grow up."

"Been too long since I've seen that many kids running around the village," she admitted. There were some, but far fewer in the last five years or so. It would change in time, but she doubted there would be enough of them if they were all that would remain. "Three, you say? Just old enough to be a holy terror for everyone around them. They're walking. Once they're walking, it's all over."

She might have no siblings, no children of her own, but in a small village? everyone figured that out.

Kinsen wrinkles her nose in pleasure of listenign to Ryoko's compliments. She replies, "Thank you Ryoko-chan. Know that you're pretty adorable yourself."

Looking back a Phi, she nods, giglling with a hand over her mouth to contain a full laughter. "Terrible threes, is it not?"

"Something like that, yes," she said, really meaning both statements. Ryoko was... definitely adorable, provided you didn't mind the horns. And she'd caused no harm to anyone in over a week, so Phi was hoping she wasn't actually a problem building, just something exotic like the rats. "Once they get a will of their own, they set out to make a name for themselves. First raiding the kitchen... then playing the hero." She laughed a little bit.

"We're all immortal until we're adults." She remembered that well enough on her own... mostly.

"Sounds just like Miuna, at that age," Aono laughs, having moved closer to the women, but still out of the waters. "You must be eager to return to him."

Ryoko flushed, but otherwise just floated quietly, contemplating children... and husbands.

She wondered what it was like.

Not that she'd ever know.

"I am. So eager I want to get this rescuing done with." Kinsen sighs. "Patience is necessary, though. I understand that."

Phi closed her eyes, settling into what she personally assumed would be her last bath until they were back at the Nezumi city, and sighed. "I want nothing more right now than to be gone from this place, far away, back in Seido lands. that would be truly lovely. I might actually use the baths there. To feel clean."

Ryoko stayed quiet, expression darkening at talk of families, going home, and the future.

She shouldn't be jealous, but some part of her was... jealous.

Jealous.

It was a passing feeling, but it soured her feelings, leaving her unusually pensive.

Kinsen looks around them once more. "I am quite grateful, though. This is surely a blessing. Fortunes are smiling upon us today."

Her eyebrows raise with an idea, and she proposes, "I challenge you to remember this moment of peace, among friends, when dire situations come in our way ahead, ok?"

Aono clapped her hands together once, gently. "What a lovely idea, Kinsen-sama. This has been the start of what will surely be an enjoyable day. May it bring us comfort in the darker days ahead."

Miuna nodded, hovering close to Kinsen. She looked up at her and then around at everyone else. Studying each of them, she tried to imprint the moment in her mind. This was really it, wasn't it? Things were going to get really bad, and some of the faces she saw here today might not be returning with them. Heck, it was even more likely that she was the one that would not be returning. She tried to push the darker thoughts from her mind, instead trying to focus her thoughts on the rainbow colored sprays of cool water and the smiling faces of her friends. It only partially worked.

She opened one eye and looked over at Kinsen quietly for a moment, listening to her suggestion and keeping her thoughts to herself at the moment. Arms stayed folded self-consciously and she looked contemplative for a long time. That's not how I work, lady... "I will remember," she said with a wooden, flat tone. It wasn't insincere at all, but there wasn't force behind it like her frequent convictions. She'd remember the day. It was memorable seeing the ... magic that the half ogre had done. The strange waterfall was memorable. Other people were memorable and these people were. But... she couldn't rely on memories to fuel her in times of trial. It just didn't work like that for her in her mind.

"I plan to make sure what we're seeing never sets foot past the river as much as I can help it." Yeah, like this was the end of it all... hah.