D2 Information Event: Sake and Skullduggery (Roleplay thread)

[Matsu Eriko]

"Heres to free and fancy!" Sip sip, might as well enjoy while stocks last. He looked around conspiratorially. "Don't tell my clanmates, but this really beats miner's moonshine."

His brain took a few moments to catch up. "Wait. Witch hunter? I didn't know the Matsu had Witch hunters. That's cool though, I guess it's never a dull moment." A pause. "Of course the only thing I know about Witch hunters is from that old show: Kuni P.I." The Firefly occasionally got old Crab shows on repeat. That one had a lot of fist fights, gun battles, and moral ambiguity.

"So you've spent a lot of time here? But just short stays by the sound of it? What's your favourite place to visit? I've only recently started to make trips further afield."

"Hah! Here-here!" Eriko cheered out loud and raised her cup to join the toast. She might have gotten too carried away and taken a gulp of her drink to down the rest of it. Well, she probably wasn't supposed to shoot that, considering the prestige of the label. No matter, she wordlessly deposited her glass to the next passing server and snatched another sampling glass up to quickly bury what happened. "I'd say that miner's moonshine has its own charm. I mean, I guess its charm is more than its character. That vacuum-sealed alcohol with that obvious hint of copper in the taste, at least when I had it!"

"They don't, actually," she said with an anxious chuckle before taking another sip. "I recently married into the Matsu, and I used to be a Kuni Witch Hunter. The Kitsu are very dominant over spiritual matters and it's hard to overrule them, given their ancestral place in the Clan. A life of a Witch Hunter isn't anything like Kuni P.I."

She said before she gave a passing glance to no one in particular, maybe just those watching them. It was hard to miss that coy glint in her eyes.

"I've been in and out of the World of Dreams a few times. For this particularly stint, it's been a month or so and the first time in the province, at least. I'm a fan of the mall, it's got almost everything there, but I've been really meaning to hit that cat cafe. No, not the one where they dress up as cats...but the one with the actual cats. And, the Slums are interesting."

She let out a cough. "...A friend told me that. Maybe. Probably."

[Yogo Sadae]

"What happens when you get that drunk? A bar fight? Or something more interesting?" he asked, smiling still. "Nervous?" Sadae asked, seeing Koyuki behave like many of the people he interviewed for the work did. "Does that mean you need more sake?" Sadae waved for a waiter, picking up two glasses from his tray, placing them between the two before pulling one closer to himself. "No need to force yourself, though."

Koyuki's hand came to a standstill, laying her hand flat against the table. Measuring him with a slightly narrowed eye, not so accusatory but suspicious of the man opposite her. Holding that look until the glasses were set down. Hand rising to grasp the glass full around the rim with her fingers and gently pull hers before her. Resting it there.

"I seem to have found your interest. I'm not so ill-refined of a woman to be getting into barfights. Being Kuni, I hold a position of.. respect. Even as Hida comrades might scuffle and brawl, I've never cared for needless violence. No.. I just get more discontented until I eventually leave. It's a rather disappointing outcome," she says, laying one finger on the rim of the glass like a 'tap' and then collecting it for a sip.

"Hai, hai." he nodded knowingly, waving his hand as if to dismiss the idea that he could think lowly of Koyuki and her kin. "Though that does beg the question." Sadae paused to bring the wide cup to his lips, taking a soft sip. "Why is Kuni-san drinking here, if is such an uncomfortable ordeal."

[Kuni Koyuki]

"Now that," she says, giving Sadae another look over. Gaze lingering a little longer than her typical, which was to say it was absolutely noticeable. Slowing down with the weight of all that booze, as she was. "Is the question, isn't it, Yogo-sama?" she smirks, briefly, and shakes her head.

[Miya Nishida]

"Not war but battles... even though a war is just many battles in different fields." Shigure smiled. "I have also survived being stranded in a forest."

"Interesting, why don't you tell me the story of your little forest adventure?" he asked, trying to focus at the same time as he felt his stomach might turn.

[Ikoma Nishi]

"The dark blossom had the prettier bottle I thin..." Sumiko started, then her attention got pulled by a creature on the girls shoulder.

"Ano...Ikoma-sama, you appear to have an animal on your shoulder? Is that a mouse?" She leaned closer to look at it.

"What? Oh. Hm, yes, this is my companion, she's good luck," Nishi said with a small smile, and put her hand up to invite the companion mouse to sit in her palm for further preening. The mouse is black and white speckled, very fancy, and regards Sumiko curiously. "Do you believe in luck?" Nishi asked.

[Mirumoto Shigure]

"Interesting, why don't you tell me the story of your little forest adventure?" he asked, trying to focus at the same time as he felt his stomach might turn.

Was the Imperial mocking him or truly interested. Shigure looked at the side and nodded. "Well, sir... it was just about the hour of the rat, we were a group of 3 bushi and a monk. The monk was the one to be doing watch on the time being. He woke me up because he heard a noise." A pause for dramatic effect. "I told him to stay and watch the others while I went out to investigate. We had found so creatures living around but they were harmless, like giant deer or squirrel like creatures gliding from tree to tree... I heard it... A horrible sound... Not quite a howl not quite a grunt." Shigure looked around decided not to make the horrible sound he heard. "You know?"

[Yogo Sadae]

"Now that," she says, giving Sadae another look over. Gaze lingering a little longer than her typical, which was to say it was absolutely noticeable. Slowing down with the weight of all that booze, as she was. "Is the question, isn't it, Yogo-sama?" she smirks, briefly, and shakes her head.

"I would say it's at least a question, yes?" Sadae admitted. "I am not sure if that's the question, but that would be up to Kuni-san, I think?" Trained as he was, it was not as if he missed her gaze. Yet he chose to play it cool, though maintained an eye contact when he could. "I am more curious about the answer, though." He brought the cup to his lips once more, murmuring happily as he did so.

[Akodo Reki]

"Ah...gomenasai!" Sakura bowed deeply. "I am so sorry! Hotaru Sakura, of the Firefly. Akodo-sama is perceptive as ever. She straightened, but did not look the Gunso in the eye...or anywhere near the face, really. "The Firefly usually don't do parties like this." Theirs are much wilder, usually. "At least, not any which I have been invited to."

Reki's smile turned sympathetic. A good actor or else really out of her depth...not that the Gunso was in a much better spot in the social arena. "I would not have expected. Legionnaire staff sometimes go to these sorts of parties, though among our own clan. Not quite as intimidating but a room full of Generals is still unnerving for someone much further down. Like myself."

"Well then what did you think of the drinks?" Her eyes fall to the one Sakura was holding.

[Akodo Inasa]

"A hustle and bustle. Even without the Winter Court season, there's always much to do here. With so much commerce, and visitors to all the Embassies, you have to remain ever vigilant and ever dutiful." Yuji replied, reaching for his fan from his sleeve. "There sometimes is a feeling that while you make many connections... how many of them are meaningful?"

"I can see that," He agreed with a small nod. "And ever alert. I suppose whether they're meaningful is in some ways a matter of the Empire's social construction, and in some ways a matter of choice. If I invest time and energy in a relationship, I can give something meaning that might have otherwise been pure happenstance." Oof, he was waxing philosophical at a party. Typical. Shut your mouth before you embarrass yourself, Inasa.

[Kuni Koyuki]

"I would say it's at least a question, yes?" Sadae admitted. "I am not sure if that's the question, but that would be up to Kuni-san, I think?" Trained as he was, it was not as if he missed her gaze. Yet he chose to play it cool, though maintained an eye contact when he could. "I am more curious about the answer, though." He brought the cup to his lips once more, murmuring happily as he did so.

Eyes narrowing, she makes her judgement of the man. It was annoying, and later she'd have to respect that. With a slight grimace she settles herself anew in her seat. Collecting up her drink with some recklessness in the hold, and drank. Inhaling deeply she sighed long, "Because it's preferable Yogo-sama. This uncomfortable ordeal is preferable," she says. "What better way to drown out the mistakes of the past," she grimaces, turning in toward a sneer. What better way to blot out the memories?

[Yogo Sadae]

Sadae was nakado - that meant that he was an expert of being annoying. It came with the profession in more ways than one. Patient, polite and curious were his watchwords. Now, his friends might have used a different set of words to describe him, all of them somewhat less kind. "Mhmhm." he nodded, looking down into his cup. "Kuni do see some shit." Of course shit came in various shapes and forms - and he wasn't going to pry what sort of mess Koyuki had had to witness. You didn't get to wear that face paint without being at least a little broken within. "We all make mistakes." Sadae murmured, looking up again, his dark eyes seeking out hers. "The question - the actual question is - what do you do with your future?"

[Kuni Koyuki]

There was an impossible mix of emotion in hers, pain, sorrow, anger, despair, purpose. Yet, unfocused. When she looked in his direction she didn't seem to look at him, more hazed over than that. Aided by another drink from her glass which broke any sense that she might have been paralyzed by that swimming in her head. With steely voice she said, "Finish it. And then.."

What then?

"I might be done, for the evening. Yogo-sama," she said, her tone falling to a neutral state. Eyes focused, she came back to herself in the moment and looked him over only briefly. An breath filled her chest, regular operations resumed. She was still drunk, of course, but she was a cognizant drunk. Enough to find her wall again, and had the good sense to get back behind it.

[Hotaru Sakura]

Reki's smile turned sympathetic. A good actor or else really out of her depth...not that the Gunso was in a much better spot in the social arena. "I would not have expected. Legionnaire staff sometimes go to these sorts of parties, though among our own clan. Not quite as intimidating but a room full of Generals is still unnerving for someone much further down. Like myself."

"Well then what did you think of the drinks?" Her eyes fall to the one Sakura was holding.

"Oh, they are quite tasty Akodo-sama, with a mixture of flavors. I am not a connossieur by any means, but I found them tasty. Though not quite as...punchy as traditional Hotaru brews, based on my limited experience."

She blushed and shivered at the thought. "A room full of Generals seems quite intimidating Akodo-sama. Have you had such experiences?"

[Yogo Sadae]

There was an impossible mix of emotion in hers, pain, sorrow, anger, despair, purpose. Yet, unfocused. When she looked in his direction she didn't seem to look at him, more hazed over than that. Aided by another drink from her glass which broke any sense that she might have been paralyzed by that swimming in her head. With steely voice she said, "Finish it. And then.."

What then?

"I might be done, for the evening. Yogo-sama," she said, her tone falling to a neutral state. Eyes focused, she came back to herself in the moment and looked him over only briefly. An breath filled her chest, regular operations resumed. She was still drunk, of course, but she was a cognizant drunk. Enough to find her wall again, and had the good sense to get back behind it.

"Mhmhm." Sadae bobbed his head at the Kuni, a smidgen of sorrow showing in his eyes. Some people were defined by their pasts - something that was rarely good for the person, or anyone involved with them. "I see." Sighing, he took another sip from his cup. As far as he could tell, the Kuni would have no future as long as she was prisoner of her past. "Fair enough, Kuni-san." Sadae offered her a more or less appropriate bow. "Carry the Fortunes."

[Kuni Koyuki]

"Mhmhm." Sadae bobbed his head at the Kuni, a smidgen of sorrow showing in his eyes. Some people were defined by their pasts - something that was rarely good for the person, or anyone involved with them. "I see." Sighing, he took another sip from his cup. As far as he could tell, the Kuni would have no future as long as she was prisoner of her past. "Fair enough, Kuni-san." Sadae offered her a more or less appropriate bow. "Carry the Fortunes."

"Carry the Fortunes, Yogo-sama," she says rising, bows, and parts. There wasn't a bob or weave in her step, she had control over herself and senses. A Crab had some fortitude to measure herself against such things. Yet a dark cloud seemed to hang over her as she walked. An ill-temper steeped overlong.

/exit Koyuki

[Thank you for the interaction, it was wonderful!]

[Kitsu Kanna]

"A fire dance with real fire??? Cool!!! I'd love to see that."

He drank from his left glass again and then stared at it's emptiness, but hey! the right glass still had some in!

Kanna took a sip of her glass, utterly defeated by the brilliant tactic of the Crane of sending on planet someone who didn't know anything about anything, so he couldn't spill any bean. Absolutely masterful. A true lesson in diplomacy.

"So, uh... Pff... Saw any pretty boy to your liking and stuff?"

[Asahina Hinata]

Kanna took a sip of her glass, utterly defeated by the brilliant tactic of the Crane of sending on planet someone who didn't know anything about anything, so he couldn't spill any bean. Absolutely masterful. A true lesson in diplomacy.

"So, uh... Pff... Saw any pretty boy to your liking and stuff?"

A Crane Courtier might have been shocked to be asked that, but Hinata was not a courtier, nor would he ever be one.

"Oh loads. Scorpion boys are so pretty . . . well if you find one you can see past the mask of."

He grinned over his sake glasses, looked around quickly to make sure a certain someone was not in hearing range and continued on.

"But have you seen Usagi Rei-samaaaa??? He is . . . absolutely . . . smokin' . . . hawt."

[Miya Nishida]

Was the Imperial mocking him or truly interested. Shigure looked at the side and nodded. "Well, sir... it was just about the hour of the rat, we were a group of 3 bushi and a monk. The monk was the one to be doing watch on the time being. He woke me up because he heard a noise." A pause for dramatic effect. "I told him to stay and watch the others while I went out to investigate. We had found so creatures living around but they were harmless, like giant deer or squirrel like creatures gliding from tree to tree... I heard it... A horrible sound... Not quite a howl not quite a grunt." Shigure looked around decided not to make the horrible sound he heard. "You know?"

Although Nishida struggled with the contents of his stomach, he seemed to be listening to the dragon, if only to distract himself. "And the grunt came from?" he asked tensely.

[Ide Yamako]

Seeing that the party was progressing to its natural vaguely nauseous end, Yamako headed out, the little information she could gather intact behind her teeth.

/Exit Yamako

[Susumu Yuji]

"I can see that," He agreed with a small nod. "And ever alert. I suppose whether they're meaningful is in some ways a matter of the Empire's social construction, and in some ways a matter of choice. If I invest time and energy in a relationship, I can give something meaning that might have otherwise been pure happenstance." Oof, he was waxing philosophical at a party. Typical. Shut your mouth before you embarrass yourself, Inasa.

"That's what our jobs are, as diplomats. To take happenstance and turn it to meaning. Our careers are built on relationships and seeing how we can strengthen bonds... or mend fences." The serpent followed the trail that the Akodo had started. "Everything we do is in the pursuit of meaning."