[D3LM] Bold Assumptions

[Usagi Rei]

Rei looked at her, smiling honestly. "I admire your persistence. And your sincerity." Ugh, this planet had his mind all twisted around. Rei brushed a hand through his well-trimmed hair. "But flexibility, yeah, that's a good way of putting it."

He looked back out over the water. "Tell me. Are you from one of those Unicorn planets full of plains and trees and mountains and stuff? Or a big city, or one of the stations?"

[Ide Yamako]

She smiles. "It is both a blessing and a lesson many times but thank you, Usagi-san." However, she sensed that something was amiss, and decided to probe a little deeper to see if she could be of use.

"Is there anything the matter Usagi-san? You seem...restless."

(OOC: Doing contested role based on this technique:

You may attempt to read someone else’s true emotions in a social situation by making a Contested Social Roll of your Etiquette / Awareness against the target’s Etiquette / Willpower. With a success, you gain a simple, general idea of their true feelings – which can be very useful when those feelings are not the same as their outward actions. You may Raise for better information, subject to the GM’s adjudication. )

Contested social roll using Rank 2 Ide skill Piercing the veils: Awareness 3 + Etiquette 4+Conversation Emphasis+Benten's Blessing 0K1 for persuading him to share his feelings. | 7k4 ⇒ 29 (TN: ?)

[Usagi Rei]

It was hard to read through the Usagi's air of friendly insouciance. After all, he spent a long time cultivating it.

Looking back at her, he smiled. "Hmmm... perhaps restless is the right word. Sometimes I think about what else is out there. Rokugan now stretches across a chunk of the galaxy. Maybe I'd enjoy another planet."

He waved a casual hand, gesturing around. "But something about this place... it's the longest I've been in any one place. I haven't left in almost two years." A very brief frown at that. "I can't say I love it, but I feel like I crave it. If that makes sense."

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D3LM, Hide emotions from Yamako, Eti/Will | 5k3 ⇒ 32 (TN: 29)

[Ide Yamako]

Clearly, there was more to this one than met the eye. "I know there are those who wander the galaxy quite a lot. I met a Firefly clan member once who spoke quite eloquently about the wonders and realities of such travel."

She takes a deep breath. "To answer you question, I am from a place mostly of plains and wind. It is a place I crave to return to as well, even if all its complexity. Why do you ask?"

[Usagi Rei]

"I've traveled." Rei said, chuckling. "What I haven't done is stay. Besides here." He inclined his head. "But I know what you mean. I might like to try it. Maybe."

Tilting his head, he regarded her with a smile. "What was it like? I guess I'm just curious. It's so different from what I know." His smile became a grin. "And maybe I'm curious about what Ide-san was like before she became an auntie."

[Ide Yamako]

She laughed at the last bit. "Well, the plains are so broad that it feels as though you may fall into the sky some days. And before I was an auntie, I was the tiny Ide running behind my Moto cousins, desperately trying to catch up. That might tell you something about me."

[Usagi Rei]

Rei laughed at that. "I can almost picture it. Didn't you have a horse to help keep up?"

He tilted his head, regarding her. "And what are you... twenty-one?" He guessed. "If you're an auntie, what does that make me?"

[Ide Yamako]

She looked at her hands for a moment. "Eventually, but it was to toughen me in the beginning. The Moto have strong feelings about strength."

"I will have you know I am 23, young man. You should mind your elders." She waves a teasing finger at him.

[Usagi Rei]

"The Moto... do have a reputation." He looked at Yamako. His normal expression was friendly, bordering on playful. Now he was thoughtful. What sort of strength did the young Yamako learn, forced to compete with samurai probably twice her size? He gave her a slow nod, somehow both sympathetic and respectful She'd do alright with the Scorpion.

Well! That got an honest laugh out of him. "My apologies, Ide-san." He bowed, shoulders still shaking. "Auntie at the ripe age of twenty-three..." He straightened, smirking. "As it happens, I'm twenty-four." He looked at her, eyebrows going up.

[Ide Yamako]

"The Moto... do have a reputation." He looked at Yamako. His normal expression was friendly, bordering on playful. Now he was thoughtful. What sort of strength did the young Yamako learn, forced to compete with samurai probably twice her size? He gave her a slow nod, somehow both sympathetic and respectful She'd do alright with the Scorpion.

Well! That got an honest laugh out of him. "My apologies, Ide-san." He bowed, shoulders still shaking. "Auntie at the ripe age of twenty-three..." He straightened, smirking. "As it happens, I'm twenty-four." He looked at her, eyebrows going up.

I must work on balancing sincerity and too much honesty. I think it is becoming clear my face is a little too transparent.

"Well, then. You clearly need to be marching yourself to the Nakado before you get too old! What are you doing chatting here with an old auntie?" She says, smiling.

[Usagi Rei]

Despite his easy manner, Rei's pale eyes were alert, alive. Perhaps that was why he seemed so aware of her microexpressions.

"What, chatting with a pretty young woman?" He grinned. "Who is married, I acknowledge." He nodded. A little reminder that his flattery wasn't too serious.

But there was something strange in his expression. Rei looked away again, back out over the ocean. "I... can't... a Nakodo isn't for me, not yet." He said awkwardly. "It's hard to explain. But later, perhaps."

[Ide Yamako]

Even the most dense of individuals would see they had hit a nerve and Yamako was many things, but insensitive was not one of them.

"I am sorry, Usagi-san. I overstep myself. I have merely...found a great deal of benefit in having a partner in my life. So I am possibly too pushy that everyone try to find that happiness themselves."

Looking for something to change the subject with, her thoughts seize on something. "So what caused your wandering feet to stop here?"

[Usagi Rei]

Rei glanced back over his shoulder, smiling at her. "Ah... no, no need to apologize. It's just..." Rei grimaced, waving his hand.

He was all too happy to change the conversation. "No great reason. It's nice here. Here, come look." He gestured out towards the artificial ocean. "Over there, there's some rocks. They're hard to see, but the waves crash over them. It's near one of those tall, narrow trees." He wasn't sure what it was called. "Out in the distance, you can see one of the other islands. A few buildings. Are those people?"

Smiling, he shrugged. "There's a lot to see on this planet. I guess I was just enjoying this bit here."

[Ide Yamako]

Nodding she says, "I meant more the World of Dreams, but this is a beautiful area. The ocean reminds me a great deal of the plains. Though this ocean has less of a tang of salt to my nose than New Kalani."

[Usagi Rei]

Nodding she says, "I meant more the World of Dreams, but this is a beautiful area. The ocean reminds me a great deal of the plains. Though this ocean has less of a tang of salt to my nose than New Kalani."

"Oh." Rei laughed. "I misunderstood."

Still watching the ocean, wind continuing to ruffle his hair, Rei considered. "Actually, I requested it. I'd received training of appropriate sorts. The whole package. And... I wanted to." He looked at her, smirking. "You know how Hare Drop Troops jump out of transports? I get some diplomatic and counter-espionage training and request placement on a Scorpion world."

"I..." Once again, that look on his face, "After about six months, I was promoted. And I liked it here. Strange and terrible as it is sometimes." Rei shrugged. "Still, it feels strange to hear people talk about their home like you talk about yours."

[Ide Yamako]

Nodding she says, "I meant more the World of Dreams, but this is a beautiful area. The ocean reminds me a great deal of the plains. Though this ocean has less of a tang of salt to my nose than New Kalani."

"Oh." Rei laughed. "I misunderstood."

Still watching the ocean, wind continuing to ruffle his hair, Rei considered. "Actually, I requested it. I'd received training of appropriate sorts. The whole package. And... I wanted to." He looked at her, smirking. "You know how Hare Drop Troops jump out of transports? I get some diplomatic and counter-espionage training and request placement on a Scorpion world."

"I..." Once again, that look on his face, "After about six months, I was promoted. And I liked it here. Strange and terrible as it is sometimes." Rei shrugged. "Still, it feels strange to hear people talk about their home like you talk about yours."

She cocked her head at him, her gaze searching. "And how do I talk about my home?"

[Usagi Rei]

She cocked her head at him, her gaze searching. "And how do I talk about my home?"

Rei smiled gently. "As a place you have a connection to. That you remember fondly, and want to go back to."

He shrugged. "I was born on a cruiser. I've lived here longer than anywhere else. I don't know. Home just doesn't mean much to me."

[Ide Yamako]

"I have heard that for some, their connection to home is more the people than the place. I know for my Unicorn ancestors, it was certainly true. Perhaps that is more to be your methodology."

[Usagi Rei]

Smirking, Rei shook his head. "Maybe. I've made a few friends here. Susumu Yuji-sama, for one, if you get the chance to meet him and his wife."

Gently he shrugged. "But perhaps I just need a little more time. The right place, the right people. Maybe it's here." Another shrug.

[Ide Yamako]

She shakes her head. “I have not had that pleasure no. But maybe if this place has not..captured you entirely, maybe that is a sign that more wandering is needed.”