Shuanna looked down slightly as kyoto mentioned that a bow and arrow might be too much in regards to skill. They probably gave it to her because they assumed that since she was of elvish decent that she knew how to use one. "well.. maybe you could show me how..? I figure that we're all going to spend a while together why not spend it preparing..?" She looked around trying to avoid their gazes, already they hadn't even gotten to walking in formation and she had disappointed them. As kyoto mentioned that they should have given her a sword she jumped slightly at the word. " a.. A sword? No- way! I could hurt myself and I don't want to damage a good sword, it takes a lot of resources and time and effort to make them. Do you know how long it takes to find the different irons and metals to melt down and then have to constantly heat it an cool it? Every sword you recieve is a gift and I know a thing or two about having to keep it clean or it'll devalue it if it rusts!" As a traveling Merchant would, she valued the price of items more than her own safety. It was clear that she could be a penny pincher as well. She clenched the bow with two hands, " It's not good to take things for granted...Everything we have is only because someone else or you yourself had put in the hard work to make them. Things just don't appear."

Shuanna began walking forwards past the warriors but stopped a little ways in front of them. " So.. I think we should get going before the sun disappears on us. "

Kyoto shrugged and figured he could show her how to use the bow. It can be pretty handy in a tight spot. He took a long stretch and then began to move forward. He put himself in front sense he knew the best routes and places to stop. He would get her to the capital and alive. If he failed, the only path left would be on his sword. Samurai didn't take failure likely. As he walked he often would push his thumb up against his hilt slightly so the blade poked out about a centimeter or two and then let it fall back in place with a good "clink" sound. It was a simple fidget nothing more. "There is something I should mention as we walk. As you may know from perhaps rumors, dragons take up a good population in our country. They all come in different shapes and sizes as well as wether they are good or bad. One species I mentioned back there to the shogun." He said. "Well hinted at but anyways, its known as a land dragon. They have no wings but have thin skin between its legs and tail that with a good sprint and bound could cause them to glide. "

He waited for the words to sink in and then continued. "Will they be a threat? Perhaps and perhaps not. Depending on wether its hungry or not." He said. He then rubbed the back of his neck. "We also take a different approach to dragons as well. They are quite respected in our way of life ,so we avoid conflicts if we can. Sometimes we even offer livestock to them, just to appease them and earn their respect. Also each clan is marked by a dragon as well." He looked over and smiled. "Our dragon is named Sanguin, he is a serpitine dragon which represent the element water. Which seeing our village being by the water is understandable. Our Shogun chose him after giving witness to him in person. Well Sanguin chose us actually, he came upon him at a waterfall pouring into a large pool of water. Sanguin emerged from the water, his body sparkling from the water rushing off of its scales. From Yatsumaru's description of the event, it was quite breathe taking." He sounded rather proud of what he said too. "Some day I want to see the dragon myself, and witness his great beauty in person." He sighed and looked up. "Shuanna, do you have any dragons from where you come from?"

Finally they were able to get going and this, start on a long journey. She walked behind Kyoto and watched his hand as it lifted the hilt of his sword and let it fall back down into its sheathe. The sound became almost meditative until Kyoto broke the silence. He began by talking of dragons, reptilian kind that were very intelligent and of course, powerful and large. Some of the more Nordic cultures shuanna has come to know would normally make these creatures their enemies. But what was unique about the asianic cultures is that they revered them and sometimes worshiped them as gods. It's debatable wether or not this is truly a wiser choice or extortion, but to each their own. It wasn't in her place to meddle in the ethical questions of another's culture, not criticize it.

Shuanna nodded, "yes I am familiar with your dragons..in fact they seem to pop up in other areas of the world but..I cannot say that we have dragons in my area, our terrain does not support them. We ...live on top of an ancient gigantic tree. The ground is not dirt, but it is branches- a canopy if you will. Our tree is as tall as mountains and it's surface expands for miles...we take care the tree and it takes care of us... Gives us our fruits, foliage for livestock to eat and it serves as a catalyst for specialized gardens. " but in hearing the dragons expansive power she sighed and became worried. "However....I don't want to think what could happen if ..say a fire dragon were to come and attack us.." She walked for a while without saying anything until apologizing, "I'm sorry..."

"its alright, if I was in your peoples position I would find out if there were any fire dragons nearby and if one so did happen to nest nearby, bribe it. Dragons are smart and intelligent but one thing they enjoy and love more then anything is the shiny little objects in ones purse or jewels. Perhaps such a bribe would be enough to keep it away if you offer it a good enough amount." He then smirked moving his hand from his neck and back on to the hilt of his blade. "Then perhaps extort its strength as protection for your own people. However, extorting a dragon would be most difficult seeing as their brains are way too large to be fooled." He never witnessed such success before seeing his job was mostly to fight off invaders or bandits. Bribing dragons and conversing with them was someone else's job. He then looked back and noticed they had a good pace going for the village was a good distance away and as he turned his head back forward he took a deep breathe and let it out. "You know, you appearing is actually a blessing for me. I don't mind doing chores but the warrior inside me would rather roam the country side fighting all that challenged me or just simply roaming the country side. Battle doesn't really have to occur, I would be completely satisfied with inhaling the scent of what this world has to offer.

As the group moved on and listened to Kyoto's constant interruptions they would come upon a sight that not many ever got to see. The road as well as the grass surrounding it was littered with bodies and blood. Kyoto stopped and observed the scene and focused on the surroundings. What he noticed right away was the condition of the bodies. Some were charred , and from the scraps laying about he figured some were even eaten. Others were simply torn and laid about, he looked for clues as to what could have done this, he wasn't to concerned about the people who where murdered. Just by looking at them he knew they were outlaws, bandits, marauders, whatever they were they got wind of the great cycle called karma. They murdered, raped, and stole from people for a living. It was only natural for them to meet their end eventually. For these people it was at the hands of a predator that easily over took them. What he couldn't find was regular prints from a beast but marks on the ground from where something slithered. He honestly was a little confused and wondered if perhaps a serpentine dragon had encountered these bandits. The problem with that is he thought they were mostly aquatic. "Let's not stick around here,... in case whatever did this comes back for seconds." He said. He was eager for battle but not against something like a serpentine dragon.

She blinked and looked to Kyoto with a horrific expression. "You mean...bribery? For free? " she shifted uncomfortably, "I don't know..I probably wouldn't be able to do it myself like talking to them or...giving them free money.. But...maybe if it happens when this is over, I could call on you.." She watched him and tried to mimic how he walked to maybe appear more soldierly. She was only barely able to catch Kyoto glance backward and she blushed at the mention that he was glad that she had arrived. "Oh.." She smiled slightly, "maybe I'm a warrior too... I like to do those things! It's part of why I'm here..."

When she finally looked forwards to see where she was going she stopped and gasped in surprise. "...oh..no.." Shuanna took some steps next to Kyoto and had to hold onto his arm and hold her nose.
"Aauughh...the ..smell..!" She gagged and coughed as the smell was similar to that of a skunk but with a slight harsher stink. She couldn't look at that all and she had to keep her face down and walk through the mess of bodies. "....so it...it isn't an animal or ..maybe another band of humans..?"

"I don't know how to explain this but from the tracks it was a creature. Oddly it was of the serpitine species of dragon. What's odd is that it was traveling on land, that is very rare for them sense they are more aquatic then land dwellers." He explained pointing to the marks in the dirt that showed a large snake like creature had passed through. "I won't pursue it sense all it did was kill a bunch of bandits anyways, no innocents where killed here, but we will notify a officer when we reach a village. Just to warn him of what might be lurking nearby."He helped her along seeing as she clung to his arm. He kind of smiled as her feminine scent rose up to his nose. Her facial expressions were clear and he could tell that she was a stranger to this kind of thing and couldn't stomach the sight of dead bodies. Not many people could unless you were a fighter like himself.

"You never seen a dead body before have you? I have become quite used to it so the smell doesn't effect me." He decided it was best to get her past the scene and quick. He wouldn't make her suffer the smell or sight of the dead. Her reaction was very understandable.

" hmmm.." She grunted as she tried to follow kyoto's finger points to the signs of a snake like being in the ground and of course, as she expected he was correct. She winced the whole time, her round pink eyes reduced to suffocated slits drowning in a layer of tears. Not because of any empathy for the poor souls, but because of the smell of the bodies even caused her eyes to water. She held her breath and used her hand that held her mouth and nose to try and wave off the smell that hovered under her nose. Of course it was an' exercise in futility.
The scent she carried wasn't overly flowery like one could guess, in fact it was a bitter warm smell that one would find in tea. It was subtle and quiet which, naturally as far as the curiosity of humans goes would prompt the other lean in to take in more. Clearly it was an' expertly crafted perfume, probably from her own world.
When they finally passed the area she violently released the air from her cheeks, popping the balloons they made so to speak. She leaned forward and put her hands on her knees for support as she caught her breath. Already they were barely just getting away from the city and she was out of breath.
She finally stood up right and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, she could finally answer kyoto as she did so, " ahh-- ..mmm.. well.. no not really. Im used to.. dried up dead things but not.. real ones." She made a disturbed face as she couldn't shake the scenes of the unnatural poses of the dismemberment of the human body. What was worse was seeing their faces and a kind of sickness rose up in her stomach. It was just too ghastly and horrifying. She brought her hand back up to her forehead, shielding her eyes for a moment.
"Im sorry.. I..it was just so...abrupt.. I mean.. I knew this would be dangerous but...I just..didn't need it to start off like that.." A small sweat drop fell from the top of her temple and she suddenly noticed a heat wave encasing her inside the armor she wore. It felt like a prison.

Kyoto sighed and he really didn't know what to say to her. He didn't expect to come up on a scene like that so soon either, but there was nothing to be done about it or say. He could always chalk it up to something but it may or may not help her cope with the experience. "If you want you can ride in the back of the wagon for awhile, I just don't think we should stop until we are a good distance from those bodies." He suggested. He then waited for her to make a decision. Her breathing was heavy which only told him she needed time to think, or she just found out armor isn't real well insulated and is feeling a bit,... Suffocated? Sadly when they made armor they never thought of making the wearer comfortable. Protecting the within was the most concern when making it. Her armor was rather light though compared to his. "Never put on anything heavier then light armor okay." He sad rather jokingly.

Shuanna put her hand over her chest as a way to catch her breath and recollect herself,however It wasn't much help as the armor prevented her from being able to feel it so there was a sense of disconnect between her body and her hand. So at Kyoto's advice she began a brisk pace away from the grisly scene but she didn't feel like being hold up in the wagon. "..no..." she breathed, her gaze mostly turning downwards as she went. " If I run away from it now.. i'll never get used to things like that. I have to deal with the fact that that might not be the last time I see something like that..I.. I have to be strong!" she said turning the hand over her chest into a clenched fist. Truth be told, she began to sweat a little more under her helmet but it wasn't her nerves this time, it was her hair. She had too much hair bunched up under the helmet so it kept in heat much more than usual, eventually she couldn't stand it so she gave a huff and pulled the helmet off causing her hair that was tied at the bottom fall down.

She sighed and finally was able to give a smiling glance at kyoto as he made a funny about her armor. It was even more emphasized because she had just taken off her helmet. Shuanna blew air from her mouth upwards that made her bangs fly upwards. "how do you do it? in this heat?"

Kyoto laughed as she asked the question. "Years of acceptance, I would rather be hot underneath the armor then to be unprotected." He answered. "To be honest,... I never cared for the helmets myself seeing as the strap always seemed to agitate my skin. Besides a good swordsman doesn't need a helmet. Any blow coming in its direction can always be deflected." He said. He ignored the words of her saying it won't be the first time they would see such carnage. She could be right but he would not encourage such thoughts. The mind can be the worse enemy to a warrior who is to weak to comprehend it. He kept moving getting them as far from the site as possible and the smell was starting to go away as they got farther and farther away from it.

He suddenly heard his own stomach growl and he had to laugh it off. "Hasn't even been a lot of time sense we last ate but my stomach is demanding more. " He looked about the area and decided to lead the group off the road. "Let make camp. It will give everyone the time to get used to sleeping on the ground. " he said. With that him and his kinsmen began putting up a tent. A rather large tent. Big enough to fit the lot of them inside it. Within it the beds where prepared for which they would sleep on. When I say beds I mean sleep rolls. Outside the tent a pit was being constructed with stones and metal rods from which food will be cooked from.

Shuanna had her head turned on Kyoto as they walked, the event still haunted her mind a little, but his distractions were working. It seemed he didn't like the construction of the helmets and she looked to examine the chin strap a little more closely. It was obviously woven with some kind of wicker grass and running her thumb along it, she could understand why. The material seemed splintery which could make skin itch and particularly so if the person had an allergic reaction to a certain type of grass. "Well..maybe you should find a better material to make them with...I could do that for you! It just seems as though you should find a more flexible material. Perhaps you could make them with cloth? So it does not itch..or you could cure the woven fibers before weaving them, so they won't irritate you..-I know I could figure it out.." She smiled and gave him some what of a worried look, "that's fine and all, but I'm not a skilled warrior..this is more for me and underlings like me than it is you..still...underestimating someone is loosing half the battle."
As they continued, the obvious stomach gurgle cut through the ambiance of the conversation noticeably and shuanna a expression on him changed to a surprised one.
"Your...your hungry? Again?" She said with raised eyebrows and a gasp.

By the time the kings men had set up camp, it was becoming dark and the sun was halfway gone. By then her appetite had come back and she emerged from the tent but with her chest plate removed. She walked to the fire pit wearing the under shirt that sat under the armor although she still had her belt and greaves still on.
"Hey..what do we have on the menu?" She said, finally able to breathe once more as she kept a hand over her chest as she wasn't able to do before. She briefly thought about it and figured that the reason for her exasperated breath under the armor could be because of the large size of her breasts and that technically the armor was probably meant for a small man, not a woman.
Shuanna had to hold her under shirt closed, "do we have to catch our dinner?"

Kyoto shook his head at her and answered. "We will only have rice this night, do not want to coax no serpent dragon to attack us next because we decided to cook up some meat." He said. He did not like it but it was a risk he would not willingly take just for some meat. He knew that if the dragon was still in the vicinity , that its sharp nose and taste for meat would quickly be drawn to them and right now they just started on their journey. He did not want to fight a dragon now off all things. "I apologize if you had your hopes up for some sort of meat ,but i think it's best if tonight we pass on it. With us so close to the carnage and without being able to tell how old that battle was, I do not want to face the creature responsible. Better safe then sorry right?" He said. He had already set up a time interval for all of them to switch during the night to keep watch. Two each time and that if something looked suspicious to notify him first before waking the others. He stood over a pot that was boiling some rice as he spoke. When he felt it was time he pulled from a sack beside him some bay leaves and put two or three in it to mix it around to give a good flavor. He then moved to a different pot and removed it from the fire and removed its top to sniff and nodded. Inside it was a simple tea with bits of plum in it to give it a distinct flavor. He then decided to stretch and sit back for awhile looking up at the twin moons up in the sky. He smiled and liked the sight of them.

Shuanna nodded and became a little embarrassed, you'd think that an ambassador like her would at least know a thing or two about being an' adventurer. Truthfully she would be provided with transportation that had no need of her to be out in the elements like this.
"oh.." she glanced up at kyoto and shook her head, her smile was slight, " no, no its alright I suppose I just got a little too excited about seeing the game out here." She gave a laugh and tightly folded her arms over her chest. "im too curious for my own good." she sighed and stared into the fire, her smile turned into a somber look as she seemed to simply melt into the warm orange light.

Kyoto's movements blended into the background around the wispy fire as its allure seemed to have put a spell on her eyes. Each second she stared into the fire the more time seemed to pass, eventually her eyes began to water and a stinging sensation caused her to finally close them and wince. "ah.. " When she was done wiping her eyes she looked to see kyoto looking in a very different direction, one that was much easier on the eyes.
"we call them the sister moons of the three goddesses.." She whispered softly, looking at them as well.
"Our creation story.. says that the three goddesses, the sun and the two moons created our world. The sun, Yadi'le with her great vast gaze and strong resolve created the foundation of the earth and the foundation of our bodies. The first twin, Dorum created time and natural law by which we live by.. and the second twin kalithra poured her rich soul into our bodies to give us life.."

He turned away from the twin moons and looked to Shuanna and listened to what her people believed about the two moons. He smiled and gave a nod, He then proceeded to empty the rice from the pot into bowls for everyone and began to hand one to each of the other samurai and then finally her.He made sure to stick a spoon in each bowl before handing it over. He then grabbed his own bowl and moved to sit next to her.
"We have a same story about the two moons... well similar, not exactly the same." He said," The elders of our country say that it was three dragons who created the two moons and the earth. One black dragon and two white dragons, they fought for several days the three dragons until the two white ones felled the black dragon and threw it down. The black dragon became the ground and earth we now sit on. The two dragons used their own bodies to form the two moons." It was a cliche story but a story none the less. He did not know which story was true. " Of course what created us was a different dragon altogether. She was the one who brought the people of this country into being and her sons and daughters protect the nine clans. A water dragon named Hotaru Tsukiko Yori watches over our clan, however I have yet earned the right to make the pilgrimage to her shrine and have my blade blessed by her." He then smirked and scoffed a bit. "It must sound oddly amazing to you, to think 9 clans are protected and guarded by 9 daughters and sons of the dragon that created us. However, despite the 9 dragons and their mother, there are some dragons that are evil and wish to destroy all that the goddess Kikyo created. Kikyo is the name of the great dragon goddess. The creator of life,...." He sighed and spooned a bit of his meal into his mouth.

Once he swallowed he looked to her. "I know this because my parents were killed by such a evil dragon, well not so much killed but they sacrificed themselves to seal him away in a mountain." It was now his turn to look into the fire and stare into it. "That evil dragon, is rumored to be the offspring of the black one that created the earth. I don't believe it however, I think instead he is a sibling to Kikyo and he grew jealous and filled with malice at her great works and aimed to destroy everything she loved."